Imagine you are driving home from a long day and you encounter a downed tree lying across the road that leads to your house.  The trunk is thick and heavy, and there is no way you can get around it. You try alternate routes, but you just can’t seem to get home. Does your spiritual life ever feel like that? Like there is some obstacle blocking you from getting home to God? It’s important to remember that this roadblock is never put there by God! God WANTS to be in relationship with us. We put up our own blocks, or we let the outside world do it for us. I have found that there are three areas that typically form those impediments that keep us from clear and direct access to our loving Creator.

DISTRACTION

Our lives are full of distractions! We’re busy and pulled in so many different directions. We do not feel we can take the time for spiritual renewal. This obstacle requires us to examine our outer lives. Ask yourself this question: What things are filling up my life leaving little to no room for spirituality? Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate some of your priorities. Making room for God in your life will give God plenty of space to dwell in your heart. Try to take one thing off your plate that isn’t truly serving you or filling you up on your journey of faith.

DOUBT

God’s plans don’t always line up with our own plans, and this can be tough to accept. It’s so much easier to doubt God and trust our own plans. To avoid what God may be calling us to do. This obstacle requires us to examine our own need for control. How often do you feel that God is calling you in a certain direction, but your doubts and fears cause you to avoid it, sticking to your own safe path? This may feel better on the surface, because you’re not risking anything, but think about the opportunities you may be missing by ignoring this call. Ask yourself: Is there something I feel that God is calling me towards, and how might I take a small step in that direction?

GUILT

To hold ourselves back from God because of feelings of unworthiness, shame, or guilt is an entirely self-inflicted roadblock. God doesn’t measure us. We don’t need to earn God’s love. The gift of God’s grace is that we are given unconditional love whether we deserve it or not. The rules about who is deserving simply do not exist with God. But when we feel unworthy, the dazzling light of God’s love can feel almost harsh and blinding. Shame causes us to shy away from that Light. Ask yourself: Does God want me to stay away? Wouldn’t God want me to bring my shame and guilt to the foot of the Cross?

As we begin to recognize and challenge these roadblocks to our faith, they begin to clear. We make time for God by examining our priorities. We make a path toward God by trusting in His plans for us. We make room for God in our lives by experiencing His unconditional love. The “fallen tree” is removed from our path, and we have a clear and easy trip home into the loving arms of our Creator.

Photo by Joe Dudeck on Unsplash