The Obstacle is the Way

Well, we’re on the verge again of welcoming a fresh team to Camp for about a month of training and bonding. In September, we’ll be hitting the road for (hopefully) a somewhat predictable travel year. We’re excited about what’s ahead of us and our team. In light of lifted restrictions and a full travel schedule, it’s tempting to look at this coming year as a kind of turning away from 2020, an escape from all the struggles and disappointments we faced last year.

But I don’t want to move forward without acknowledging what God did in us and through us over the last 12-18 months. Indeed, if we want to take the Bible seriously, if we want to be known as followers of Jesus, then the struggle, the difficulties, the disappointments, the pain… they’re not a detour from God’s best. They are part of God’s good plan for our flourishing.

My brother Adam recently shared a quote with me: The obstacle is the way. It comes from a leadership book, which drew inspiration from the words of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius – “What stands in the way becomes the way.”

The idea rings true.

So often, we treat life as a grand endeavor to avoid obstacles and difficulties. But the hard things in life are simply inseparable from the rest of what we call “life”. More than that, they are often the gateway to the things we most value in life.

Last year, we walked our team through cancellation after cancellation, ultimately sending them home for several months while we waited for COVID to start settling down. This was an obstacle, sure; but it was also a unique privilege to help our young team members learn how to process grief, disappointment, and loss. Our team received a gift – the understanding that faithfulness does not automatically translate into our idea of fruitfulness. Paul wanted to flourish, so he prayed “Take away the thorn.” And God said “No” repeatedly. And eventually Paul got to the point where he could honestly say, “If it means more of Jesus, then thorns are better.”

Amanda & I had to walk through that ourselves while we were separated from our team. What do we do when we’re sidelined from doing what we love, what we feel called to do. Who am I without my job/career/ministry? These are good questions to ask. A lot of people were forced to figure out the answers to those questions last year. How do you cope when either the things you love doing or the people you love being with are taken away? Here’s what we saw God teaching us in that situation:

One, he’s revealing some very clever idolatry, where good things like “ministry” and “relationships” become crutches, fixes, functional idols in our constant pursuit of self-worship. Two, he’s rooting out what I like to call “Prosperity Gospel Lite” mindset.

If I keep up my end of the bargain, God is going to make things work out for me.

Once again, if we’re going to take the way of Jesus seriously, then yes, things will work out. But resurrection come after the cross and the grave. The obstacle of Jesus’s suffering wasn’t a detour on the way to glorification. The obstacle was the way. And we’re called to nothing else than the cross, dying to self, the fellowship of his sufferings.

So yes, we’re excited about getting back on the road in September, but we’re also a little nervous. Who knows what could happen? But we’re not running away from 2020. What happened is now part of who we are today, which is exactly how God planned it. We know that whatever happens this year, God loves us, he is in control, and he has shown us this in the death and resurrection of Jesus. His good purpose for all of us will forever stand!

What about you? How have you seen God working through the difficulties of the past year? How are you stronger? Do you find yourself more dependent on God’s grace? Are you becoming a more merciful person, more empathetic and patient? Often, God’s best gifts to us are found in the Wilderness.

The obstacle is the way.

If you’d like to keep up with our upcoming schedule, you can always find it on our Where are we? page up top.

Key Photo by Yuiizaa September on Unsplash

Bust of Marcus Aurelius Foto Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons