Hindrances to Pressing On

"Private disciplines precede public effectiveness." (Study 1.3)

At various times in our lives we will find that our progress and development is challenged by circumstances and attitudes. If we are to press on towards God"s calling for our lives we need to be able to recognise these hindrances and deal with them effectively.

One common hindrance that we will face is the feeling that we are hindered in our progress by external factors. That is, we are subject to factors beyond our control. We may find ourselves saying phrases such as, 'I cannot develop my ministry because...' or 'If only... then I could...' The hindrances that we may face could be a lack of finance, the attitudes of our leaders, the short-sightedness of our church, or a lack of mentors. As we look at the circumstances that we face, we may feel that we cannot find a way forward until the circumstances change. If we take a careful look at the situation, we may well find that we have taken on a victim mentality. When we feel that we are victims, we feel that we have no choices. As we will see later, this is never true. We always have a choice, though the choices that we have may be limited. One choice that we always have available to us is that of increasing our capacity through private disciplines. Instead of focusing on the circumstances that we face, we can respond positively by shaping who we are through investing in private disciplines that will sharpen our spiritual, mental, relational, and physical lives.

Another hindrance that we can face in achieving our personal mission is the thought that we cannot fulfil God's call until we gain a particular status or position. For example, if we feel that God has called us to lead youth work, we may feel we cannot continue in that call until we become appointed as the Youth Leader. What we must remind ourselves is that God will provide the positions in his time (Psalm 75:6-7), and we can be active in developing our capacity so that we will be ready when that time comes. We can see this principle at work when we see how God called the Israelites to take over Canaan. Though they received the call, he did not give them the land immediately. They needed to increase their capacity in order to take over the land.

"Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land." (Exodus 23:30)

Effective leaders are learners who continually seek to expand their capacity in order to achieve God's purposes for their lives.

Another hindrance that we may face in pressing on towards achieving God's purposes for our lives is that of living a life full of activity. At times we may find that our lives are full of the activities and demands of ministry and that we struggle to find the time to invest in private disciplines. At times like these, we need to remind ourselves of what we are building. God's primary purpose for our lives is that we may know him and to allow that knowledge to transform our lives. If all our time is taken up with working for God, so that we neglect our relationship with God, then we have been distracted from his primary purpose. In order to allow God to work in and through our lives, we need to create the space in schedules that will allow us time for reflection. Disciplines such as reflection and weekly planning, as discussed in Study 1.8, will help us to realign our lives to God's priorities for our growth, development, and ministry.

These are just three hindrances to living an effective life, one that allows us to be all that he wants us to be and to do all that he wants us to do. No doubt we will face other challenges that will cause us to detract from God's purposes for us. We need to ensure that we have the desire, determination, and discipline in order to reassess and refocus our lives regularly so that we press on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of us.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3)