Potholes

John 16:33 “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

I don’t know about you, but I hate to drive on rough roads.  I like the feeling of smooth streets under my tires.  I also hate the wear and tear rough roads put on our truck.  We've driven on “roads” for which the term road must be used loosely.  They were more like off road trails. 

Sometimes to get to our destination we must travel over rough terrain.  The same holds true in our spiritual life.  We are have a call/purpose and often the road to that call is bumpy and full of potholes.    In John 16:33 Jesus tells us that we will have trials and sorrows in this life. For the sake of our study today we will call these struggles potholes. 

There are many examples in the Bible of people who faced potholes in life.  We will look at three men (The Apostle John, Joseph, and Jesus) and the way they faced their trials.  We will also look at three things we can do to stay safe on the road of life.

      1.       Drive slowly – be patient. 

When we think of patience we think of waiting.  I know we’ve spent two days looking at the rewards for waiting; however, waiting on the Lord’s timing is one way to stay safe as we travel through this life. 

The Apostle John was a patient man. John MacArthur writes about John:

All historical evidence leads us to conclude that John's writing period in his life was at the end of his life, that it was in the nineties of that first century that John did his writing, including the book of Revelation which is usually thought to have been given to John around the year 96 A.D. By that time, John is virtually the last man standing, the last remaining Apostle.

Although he was an old man at the time, he was still a fiery proclaimer of truth, he was still a preacher and a teacher and a pastor and a shepherd. And for that preaching and for that teaching he was taken prisoner, probably around the year 95, and he was condemned to die in exile on an island out in the Mediterranean called the island of Patmos.

John had to wait until he was an old man to begin writing of his portions of the New Testament.  The other authors of the New Testament had all died before John even began writing. He is the author of John, 1,2,3 John and Revelation.  Imagine being the last disciple alive.  Knowing that your entire inner circles of friends have already given up their lives for Christ and you are now an exile on a remote island left there to die.  John was penning his Gospel, letters, and Revelation while he must have been discouraged.  He had been persecuted, he was removed from civilization, his friends were dead, and the churches he oversaw were beginning to turn away from the truth (Revelation 2-3). 

Prayerfully we will not have to wait until the end of our life to fulfill our destiny; however, we must take it at the Lord’s pace.  Rushing ahead of him will take us out from under his protection and will put us in danger of ministering without the anointing and in our flesh. 

Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  We see this verse fulfilled in John’s life.  His later days were greater than the former.  Waiting may feel painful, but it is rewarding!!!

      2.       Be Alert – Look out for danger.

Joseph was a man who understood potholes.  He was given dreams about his future only to hit the pothole of an unbelieving, unsupportive, even discouraging family.  He then faced the pothole of slavery.  This was followed by false accusations, and imprisonment. 

Satan wanted to see the Israelite nation die before it really got off to a good start.  He tried to destroy Joseph before he could fulfill the destiny God had for his life.  If it had not been for Joseph’s wisdom and obedience to God, Jacob and his family would have starved to death during the famine. However, in spite of the potholes, God’s plans were fulfilled because Joseph never gave up on the promises of God. He did not allow himself to fall into self-pity and doubt.  

Just as there are warning signs on the road, there are warnings in the Word.  John 10:10 “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”  We need to be aware that the enemy is out to destroy our lives.  He doesn't want us to fulfill our call/purpose.  If he can’t get us to fall into sin (Joseph faced sexual temptation when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him), then he will try to discourage us (Joseph was wrongly imprisoned) and get us to feel sorry for ourselves and blame God for our circumstances.  But we like Joseph need to hold onto the promises and keep our focus on Christ.  We need to take our thoughts captive and not allow them to control us.  2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

       3.       Refuel – spend time with God. Reading his word and praying.

We would never think of taking our car out on the road without fuel, however, how often do we go through life without the fuel of the Word and prayer?  In Matthew 4 we read the account of the temptation of Christ.  Each time the devil tried to tempt Jesus, Jesus used the Word against him.  Each time it silenced the enemy.  We also need to use the Word to silence the voice of the enemy in our lives.  If we have not spent time in the Word we will be able to use it. 

Prayer is vital to safely traveling through this life.  When we come to God in prayer we give him the opportunity to speak into our hearts.  He gives peace, guidance, direction, etc. as we spend time in his presence. 

We need to guard our hearts and lives and take care as we travel through this life.  We need to submit our lives to Christ and allow him to “take the wheel”.  With him in the driver’s seat the potholes won’t do damage to our undercarriage (our faith) nor will they cause our lives to veer off course.  

All Scripture is NLT unless otherwise stated.