Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you.

Devotion based on 1 Thessalonians 3:11

Sometimes people take on obstacles just for the challenge. They will run a race filled with mud pits, climbing walls, and cargo nets to test themselves and hopefully overcome the challenges. At other times, obstacles just appear. Traffic comes to a standstill. The computer crashes. Progress comes to a sudden stop. And at other times, our obstacles are self-inflicted. Like leaving a phone nearby whose noises and messages distract from the work that needs to get done.

The apostle Paul had an obstacle that kept him away from the Christians in Thessalonica. Because of persecution, Paul had had to flee in the middle of the night. Now, writing to them later, he longed to be able to see them again. He prayed that God would clear the way to make a visit possible so that souls might be strengthened, and the love of Christ proclaimed.

While we may not face an obstacle keeping us from visiting Thessalonica, we do sometimes face spiritual obstacles keeping us from being closer to the Lord. Sometimes, these obstacles appear out of nowhere—a temptation or a trial we never expected. Sometimes, our spiritual troubles are self-inflicted. We keep ourselves from God’s Word or worship. We pursue a temptation rather than turning from it.

When the path to God seems difficult, take comfort in knowing that Jesus cleared the way for you. Every trial that was thrown at him, he endured. Every temptation, he overcame. Every distraction that kept him from his path to come to you to save you, he ignored. Jesus let nothing get in the way of winning your salvation.

Obstacles will come. But Advent is a great time to re-focus and re-prioritize your relationship with Jesus. Fix your eyes on him and the path to heaven that he has cleared for you.

Prayer: