As head of our church's evangelism department in Congo, I organized a mission trip with a team of four local evangelists to a village in a rural setting. After traveling more than 150 miles, we found a large tree that had fallen across the road. This tree barricaded the road. We couldn't continue our trip. To the left and right of the road was a large ravine. We were stuck. One of our team members shouted: ”This is not possible, we are screwed, and we will not pass. I am sure we won’t be able to remove this big tree. I suggest that we cancel this trip and return home.” But other members of the team encouraged us and said, “We are going to work all night. We are convinced that we will remove this tree.”
Working all night, we cut the tree into small pieces with a machete and, after six hours, the obstacle was removed. Everyone shouted in one of our Congolese languages (Lingala) “Alongi na ye,” which means, we have won. We were now able to journey to the village where the members of the church were waiting for us.
This experience teaches us that when faced with problems that seem insurmountable, fear may make us doubt. On the other hand, the power, goodness and immutable faithfulness of God provide us with a harness of confidence and help to overcome the obstacles on our path.
Throughout life, one will face obstacles. Obstacles are barriers that block people from pursuing what they want to do. They are present in every journey of our lives, no matter how big or small. Obstacles can obstruct one’s progress; but, with courage, determination and faith, it is possible to overcome them. To overcome an obstacle, you must first be confident that you can. When we lack confidence and motivation, obstacles grow until they become impossible to overcome.
A French writer said,” La vie c'est tellement d'obstacles a passer qu'on peut finir par s'essouffler, mais malge la fatigue mieux vaut continuer plutot que contourner..”
(English translation: “Life has so many obstacles to overcome that you can end up running out of steam... but despite the fatigue, it's better to go through it rather than go around it…”)
