Maybe I would have been a bit more understanding had this been a narrow country road … But this was the Trans Canada, at this point, a divided 4-lane road and the primary highway running east to west through the province of Manitoba! And that was an entire house balanced across a tractor trailer, making its way — very slowly I might add — westward, and blocking not only both westward lanes of traffic, but the emergency lanes on both sides as well!
Sure, there were sections of road that were slightly wider, and the cars in front of me drove out onto the grass from time to time to pass; but I had a trailer in tow. The eaves of that house were dipping crazily, and it was hard to see around the monster to tell when the wider road would again narrow. And so it was that I missed several opportunities to pass, because just when I had screwed up my courage to venture out onto the grass on the side of the road, the road would again narrow…
And to make matters worse, impatient drivers were lining up behind me…
Doesn’t it seem so often in life that the only way forward is completely … blocked?
And not just “blocked”, but completely blocked by impassable circumstances? And each time you think there might be a way around or through them, they dip and weave, completely obstructing any possible way out?
This may be a trial of some kind, or it could even be temptation or addiction. The point is, there doesn’t seem to be anyway to move forward either in your physical or your spiritual life, or in both…
Yet God promises to always make a way out…“God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians. 10:13 ESV); and “Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters…” (Isaiah 43:16 ESV). Where is that way, and why can’t you find it?
I would suggest that just as there were times when I could have bypassed that house that blocked the Trans Canada Highway, God always does make a way! But just like I was hesitant to take advantage of those sections of road, we often either don’t see the way God has made, or our faith is too weak to take it. In life, we tend to walk by sight. If we don’t see the outcome of a certain path, it is difficult to motivate ourselves to take it. We are afraid. We have trust issues. And so we continue to plod along, seemingly forever “stuck” behind whatever it is that is blocking us from moving forward…
I can assure you that I’m not still stuck behind that house in the middle of the Manitoba prairies. The road again widened, and the tractor-trailer move a bit onto the grass on the right side of the westward lanes, leaving a paved — albeit narrow — shoulder on the left. And even though I couldn’t see in front to know how long this would last, I breathed a prayer and took my little caravan around that road block. What relief to once again see two lanes of wide open highway in front of me!
I realize now that the solution came because of three things: The road did it’s part — it widened. The tractor-trailer bearing the house did its part — it moved over as far as it could. It was then up to me to do my part — to trust and to take it. I will tell you that my knuckles were pretty white, and I wasn’t exactly relaxing back in the seat as we went around, but I will also tell you that we made it, without the house eaves dipping down to scrape the top of my trailer!
And it is the same with whatever we are stuck behind in life. God WILL make a way!
- “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 ESV)
- “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” (Prov. 16:3 ESV)
- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)
- “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 ESV)
- “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 ESV)
Our only job is to trust Him enough to take the way He has made.
Whatever it is that is blocking you — be it addiction, temptation, illness, financial difficulties, relationship problems, etc. — God will make a way. He will provide you with strength, He will make your paths straight and establish your plans. Your job is simply to recognize the way He opens up, and to have enough faith in Him to take it. But when you do, that blockage will soon be nothing but a retreating dot in your rear view mirror, nothing more than a distant memory.
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Moderator, Associate Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
(to access the entire “blocking the Road” mini-series, please click here!)