When God places obstacles in our path, it is for our discipline and for our good. It is an act of love toward us as his children. Just as we withhold things from our own children that we know are bad for them, God does the same for us. But unlike us, God’s ways are holy, perfect, righteous, and just. If he withholds something from us or keep us from something, it is for our good. He knows that the things we pursue apart from him will never satisfy us. He knows that what we need is more of him, not for all our wishes to come true.

Have you ever been in hot pursuit of something only to keep running into road blocks? Sometimes I come to these obstacles and think, “Not again! This isn’t fair!” I respond in frustration and try to kick them aside so I can keep moving forward to my goal.

The prophet Hosea speaks about such obstacles:

“Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.’”(Hosea 2:6-7)

The prophet here is talking about the nation of Israel, a wayward and fickle people who left her Husband in search of false loves and counterfeit idols. As we know, God dealt severely with her, to the point of divorcing himself from her. He sent Israel away in captivity. But he hadn’t given up on her. It was all for the intention of drawing her back to himself.

Like the Israelites, we too run from our first love and pursue idols and false lovers. We seek significance and affirmation from sources other than God. We pursue temporary pleasures and experiences that we think will fulfill and satisfy our longings. We place our affections and desires on what is created rather than the Creator. We idolize success, money, motherhood, possessions, love, and more. Though our idols are not made of wood or stone, they are idols just the same.

Because of our wayward hearts, God often places obstacles in our path. These obstacles are not mean to be overcome or bypassed but are intended to make our way hard. They are meant to stop us in our tracks so that we will turn around and return home.

These obstacles are acts of grace.

This side of the cross, we know that such obstacles are not a form of punishment for Christ already took our punishment when he died for our sins. Rather they are a chastening, a form of discipline. Hebrews tells us that God disciplines or chastens those whom he loves.

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