Obstacles on the Path – Hindrances to Knowing God’s Will – Purity 1669
Purity 1669 05/28/2025 Purity 1669 Audio Podcast
Purity 1669 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of an overcast sky, the green and blue hues of the view from atop Mount Antone comes to us from yours truly as I captured this panoramic shot in a vain attempt to capture the beauty that was set before me on Sunday, May 25th.
Well, it’s Wednesday and I share today’s mountain top view as a visual reminder that we once again have reached summit of another, albeit shortened, work week, and to encourage us all to overcome any hindrances that might get in our way to ascend to the abundant life that God has for us.
The view from a top of a life of peace found via the path of Christian Discipleship is worth the effort to get there and it only requires us to keep following the Lord – one step at a time, one day at a time. God calls all of us to walk in the Spirit to discover the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, and self-control – in our lives but just like every path may have its obstacles to overcome to get to our final destination , our road to recovery and restoration has at least three things that could hinder out path.
Monday’s In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion presented these hindrances to our progress and so I am sharing it on the blog today to help all of us to be aware of the things that could be holding us back from experiencing the joy of living in God’s will for our lives. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“Hindrances to Knowing God’s Will
“Let God help you avoid these common obstacles to understanding His good and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2
The Bible tells us God’s will is good, acceptable, and perfect in every way (Rom. 12:2). To live life at its spiritual best, we need to discover His plans and desires for us, and then we must walk in them every day. Yet certain hindrances can prevent us from discerning the Lord’s intentions for us:
- Desire for control. We’re born into this world with a fallen nature. To follow God’s plan, we need to surrender our rights and embrace His ways. We must choose every day to let Him rule over our thought life, emotions, decisions, families, and work (Luke 9:23).
- Ignorance of God’s principles. Without the light of biblical guidance, we’ll wander away from the Lord’s plan (Psalm 119:105).
- Influence of others. People have lots of opinions about what we ought to do and how God would want us to behave. Unless we are extremely careful, we will act to satisfy them. Then we’ll end up out of God’s will because we put people’s preferences ahead of the Lord.
If we abandon ourselves to God’s care, then “self” will be subdued, a hunger for His Word will grow, and we will live to please Him, not others. Make it your goal to give the “throne of your life” over to Him.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. When we put our faith in Jesus, there is great joy at our salvation but in order to live in the joy that is a fruit of the Spirit, we are called to live according to the Spirit, meaning we that we are living according to God’s will for our lives.
Stanley expertly presents us with the hindrances to doing that – our selfish nature and desire for complete autonomy and control over our lives, our ignorance of God’s ways, and the influence of the “ungodly”.
But the good news is that these hindrances can be overcome.
Our desire for control is overcome by humbly surrendering to Jesus’ lordship. This is the decision of the will. Are we going to live the way we always have or will we start, and continue, to live according to God’s ways. As disciples of Jesus, it’s a decision we make every day.
Our ignorance is overcome by the decision to know God’s word. This means surrendering time and our effort to read, meditate, and apply God’s revealed wisdom. The war on our ignorance goes nicely with the decision to relinquish our control to the Lord.
Finally, perhaps the most painful or challenging aspect of the path of Christian discipleship is to limit or eliminate the negative influences of others who either don’t know or flatly reject the Lord and His ways. This could include dear friends or family members. While we try to live in peace with all, we must be wise and discerning with how much we allow others to influence our thoughts and behaviors. If others continually challenge or reject Biblical wisdom, or seek to draw you into sin, or cause you to fall into negative emotions, we may have to choose to quarantine ourselves from their toxicity.
The Lord calls us out of the darkness of our selfish desire for control, our ignorance, and the demonically inspired/worldly influences of others to be set free and to experience the joy and peace of living in His ways.
The pathway to peace is not always easy but God provides us with His way around the obstacles that hinder our progress. So make the decision to trust the Lord and He will bless your path.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Mixed Marriages.
Joshua 23:12–13 (NASB) For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you.
Today’s verses fall under the fifth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Mixed Marriages.
5. God will reveal his anger if and when his people marry unbelievers.
Today’s Bible verses describe the negative consequences for choosing to marry an unbeliever. Extrapolating the general principles directed toward the nation of Israel in these verses, we can understand that a decision to intermarry with unbelievers will:
- Cause their negative influences to persist in your life (God will not drive them out)
- That their influences will have a “snare” or “trapping” influence on your life – meaning they will cause your to doubt your faith’s relevance, question your faith’s practices, and it could cause you to actively sin through false worship or lead you into the “permissible sins” of a false religious system
- Cause pain of negative consequences (whip on your side) and a blinding influence (thorn in your eyes) over seeing life clearly.
- And these influences will be with you until “death do you part” (until you perish).
So don’t be influenced by others’ non-Christian beliefs that can be a snare and a trap that will cause you pain and blind you. Avoid the curse of marrying a non-believer by just saying no to the very idea that it’s okay to marry someone who doesn’t believe in and follow Jesus.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 168
I saw Satan fall like lightening from the sky … I have given you authority … – Luke 10:18–19
The seventy came back rejoicing that even the demons were subject to them (v. 17). They had successfully stormed the Devil’s kingdom taking many prisoners for the Lord. No wonder they rejoiced. They could not have done this on their own, but Jesus gave them authority (exousia) and power (dunamis)—the right and the might—to invade Satan’s territory. Their victory was evidence that Daniel’s metallic image, symbolizing Satan’s attempt to rule the world by setting up several kingdoms, climaxing in the days of Rome, had finally come crashing down! Or, in Jesus’ words, Satan fell like lightning from the sky. He had suffered a great defeat! All the power of the enemy was useless to hurt those the Lord protected. You too are protected by Him when He wishes you to be. There is nothing to fear when in His service. If, however, at times, he allows the enemy to prevail, that too, achieves His purposes. Either way, His will is done, He is honored, and that’s what matters.[1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 176.
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