Obstacles?

My friend, may I ask you a question? If we're patient and willing to look for the opportunities that God often provides as obstacles that seem so daunting when we first confront them, might we find that what had been a problem was really nothing more than an opportunity working itself out for our good? If we keep a sharp eye and be patient; are our problems often nothing more than opportunities in disguise?

Life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day. I'm Mark Brunner.

There are few things in life more troublesome, even aggravating, than those orange barrels and flashing lights. They're repairing the street in front of my office building and the barriers went up earlier in the week. I'm so used to turning on the same street leading to my office each morning that I completely forget about the orange barrels that await me, block- ing my way to the access street to the office building. So, each day this week I've run into the barriers and had to turn around. This morning, however, the detour became a little less of a burden than the previous three days. As I ventured down the alley behind the Post Office I happened to pass a postal worker who smiled, waved and greeted me as I slowly passed by. My usual route would have taken me another way and I would have missed that little bit of morning sunshine. I found myself thinking that often problems can become opportunities if we have the patience to see them through.

Here's a story: A North Carolina church wanted to purchase some property. The church regularly suffered from high tide flooding. But when the church was built over a hundred years ago, they couldn't afford better property. They finally decided to relocate to higher ground. An ideal piece of property was empty - actually the highest ground in town. It belonged to a man named Sam. Officials from the church went to see Sam about selling the property. He politely told them it wasn't for sale; that he had other plans for the land. The church looked elsewhere, but went back to Sam and made another offer. Again they were refused. Then an unusual thing happened. One of the worst coastal floods in memo- ry struck. As water rose, the church began to float. It left its coastal lot and started inward. It floated down the main street, turned a corner and landed right on Sam's empty property. Sam gave in. He allowed it to stay and, if you ask the members of the church how they came to acquire their land, they may relate what Sam said: "I guess if the good Lord couldn't move me to give the land to the church, he would move the church to the land." (Steve Goodier)

The member's persistence, combined with a little outside help, paid off. Persevere–you may be surprised how your obstacles vanish! Oh, they're still there, just like those orange barrels blocking the street to my office. But, if we're patient and willing to look for the opportunities that God often provides as obstacles that seem so daunting when we first confront them, we might find that what had been a problem was really nothing more than an opportunity working itself out for our good. Keep a sharp eye and be patient; often problems are nothing more than opportunities in disguise.

We pray. Heavenly Father, sometimes life confronts us with strange and lurking problems; things we hadn’t anticipated and issues that just seem so tedious and never ending. You are the God Who takes these times in Your hands and molds them into solutions when we least expect it. Thank You Father for coming to our aid, even when we don’t know what to ask for when life presses and we are out of questions, let alone answers. We praise Your Holy Name O Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen!

Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.

If you have a special prayer request, please send your request to ”This Passing Day!”

<markcbrunner@thispassingday.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.

Obstacles?

My friend, may I ask you a question? If we're patient and willing to look for the opportunities that God often provides as obstacles that seem so daunting when we first confront them, might we find that what had been a problem was really nothing more than an opportunity working itself out for our good? If we keep a sharp eye and be patient; are our problems often nothing more than opportunities in disguise?

Life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day. I'm Mark Brunner.

There are few things in life more troublesome, even aggravating, than those orange barrels and flashing lights. They're repairing the street in front of my office building and the barriers went up earlier in the week. I'm so used to turning on the same street leading to my office each morning that I completely forget about the orange barrels that await me, block- ing my way to the access street to the office building. So, each day this week I've run into the barriers and had to turn around. This morning, however, the detour became a little less of a burden than the previous three days. As I ventured down the alley behind the Post Office I happened to pass a postal worker who smiled, waved and greeted me as I slowly passed by. My usual route would have taken me another way and I would have missed that little bit of morning sunshine. I found myself thinking that often problems can become opportunities if we have the patience to see them through.

Here's a story: A North Carolina church wanted to purchase some property. The church regularly suffered from high tide flooding. But when the church was built over a hundred years ago, they couldn't afford better property. They finally decided to relocate to higher ground. An ideal piece of property was empty - actually the highest ground in town. It belonged to a man named Sam. Officials from the church went to see Sam about selling the property. He politely told them it wasn't for sale; that he had other plans for the land. The church looked elsewhere, but went back to Sam and made another offer. Again they were refused. Then an unusual thing happened. One of the worst coastal floods in memo- ry struck. As water rose, the church began to float. It left its coastal lot and started inward. It floated down the main street, turned a corner and landed right on Sam's empty property. Sam gave in. He allowed it to stay and, if you ask the members of the church how they came to acquire their land, they may relate what Sam said: "I guess if the good Lord couldn't move me to give the land to the church, he would move the church to the land." (Steve Goodier)

The member's persistence, combined with a little outside help, paid off. Persevere–you may be surprised how your obstacles vanish! Oh, they're still there, just like those orange barrels blocking the street to my office. But, if we're patient and willing to look for the opportunities that God often provides as obstacles that seem so daunting when we first confront them, we might find that what had been a problem was really nothing more than an opportunity working itself out for our good. Keep a sharp eye and be patient; often problems are nothing more than opportunities in disguise.

We pray. Heavenly Father, sometimes life confronts us with strange and lurking problems; things we hadn’t anticipated and issues that just seem so tedious and never ending. You are the God Who takes these times in Your hands and molds them into solutions when we least expect it. Thank You Father for coming to our aid, even when we don’t know what to ask for when life presses and we are out of questions, let alone answers. We praise Your Holy Name O Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen!

Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.

If you have a special prayer request, please send your request to ”This Passing Day!”

<markcbrunner@thispassingday.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.