So I occasionally trip over the shoes in the hallway when I get home. We live in an apartment with a small entry and little storage for our shoes, including several pairs of big boots. One thing I know about those tripping moments is that I can come home in a great mood, ready to walk in and do whatever I need to get done that night, but those shoes can in a split second get me internally out of sorts. I realize that this is one of the world’s most petty and smallest annoyances, and honestly isn’t a big deal at all. But it still bothers me if I have to shove the door open due to all the shoes lying in its path (though that actually releases some of my fury so I guess that’s not all that bad either. Haha.)
Anyway, those shoes are good, well-worn, even loved shoes. The biggest of the boots are the ones that my husband and I will throw on to go hunting or take walks in the woods, or even for him to wear to work to protect his feet and ankles throughout his physically demanding workday. What great shoes they are! They serve us well. But there are times when they are not in their right place and are annoying, burdensome, and frankly in our way. Does that mean we don’t like our shoes anymore? Of course not! But they are not in the place they should be, and they end up causing us to stumble.
I think of that personal example when I read about Peter rebuking Jesus after Jesus told His disciples that He must suffer, be killed, and rise on the third day. Peter vehemently objected to this proposition, saying “Never shall this happen to you, Lord!” Peter may have done this partly out of care and concern for Jesus. But, it could have been out of his own fear, too. It may have been a more fear-based than love-based objection. Jesus replied about as harshly as I can imagine. He replied to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Ouch. Jesus knew that Peter was still more hung up on earthly, human matters than on the heavenly, spiritual, eternal purposes to which God had called them.
Jesus then speaks to all the disciples. He says to them, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” Even to the point of physical death, we are to bear our crosses for the Lord. We must remove the stumbling blocks and instead each carry our cross. I guarantee you that His was much heavier than yours. And I’m gonna be honest, mine carries me more than I ever seem to carry it. I wrote yesterday about rocks in our lives, and I think many of those are, or can become, stumbling blocks. If something or someone is a stumbling block for you, Jesus has showed us how to respond. We are not to allow those things, even if it’s someone as close and important to us as Peter was to Jesus, to deter us from serving the Most High King. And certainly we are not to become a stumbling block for another!
In Romans 14:13-23, we are reminded that we should not become or do something that serves as a stumbling block for someone else. Jesus even said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.” I have to say that it both inspires and intimidates me that Jesus wasn’t One to mince words. At all. Read the gospels and you’ll see what I’m talking about. He wasn’t afraid to be direct and He sure knows how to convict us all, doesn’t He? I think we need to remember that, if we are believers and followers of Christ, we are to be on the lookout for the stumbling blocks Satan has put in our way, and also to be sure that He is not craftily using us as one, either!
If anything is preventing you from following the Lord, there are two options, and the correct one is dependent on the particular stumbling block. One option is to put the stumbling block back where it belongs. It’s not necessarily something bad but is out of place at the moment, out of hand, not being used or appreciated in a healthy way. The second option is to toss that sucker out. Get it out of your life! The Lord can help you overcome anything that has kept you in bondage or that is preventing you from drawing closer to Him – even if it’s your own attitude or opinions!
Iron sharpens iron but one bad apple can spoil the bunch. Do you have stumbling blocks you need to move or even toss completely? Are you doing something or acting in a way that is making you a stumbling block for someone else? Ask the Lord to help you with those things, even the things that are painful to part with, and He will, as always, be faithful.
Psalm 119:165, HLC
sacred strokes 