5 Biblical Truths To Help Overcome Obstacles in Life - Powerful Scripture Quotes

Obstacles aren’t fun to deal with. They slow up our processes and plans. They keep us from moving forward in our dreams and desires that God has placed on our hearts. They block us from seeing the untapped potential for our future.

Bible Verses about Overcoming

Yet there’s no spiritual growth without obstacles. Every mature believer has at one time or many times dealt with unimaginable obstacles in the way of God’s direction for their lives. What to do with these obstacles? Reflect and meditate on the following 5 Biblical truths to help overcome obstacles in life:

Biblical Truth #1) Put aside all sinful behaviors.

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1).

Sometimes obstacles are in our way because of sinful or carnal choices that we are making. Because of the cross—believers are no longer chained to living in sin—we are free to walk away from sin by the power of God. It’s our choice to remain in sins because we find short-lived pleasure in them; however, we can’t expect obstacles to dissipate until we confess and repent of our sinfulness.

Biblical Truth #2) Trust in God for strength and wisdom to deal with the obstacles.

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2).

Many people will spend a lot of time trying to think and maneuver their way around obstacles in their own strength. Perhaps they are blessed with high intelligence or wealth that can open many doors. Yet for certain obstacles—our futile attempts to deal with them in our own strength—renders us powerless. We must depend on God for the strength and wisdom to overcome.

Biblical Truth #3) Deal with the strongholds in our minds.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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” (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).

Some obstacles that we deal with aren’t even real because we have let our fears, worries, or lies from others keep us paralyzed from dealing with obstacles. Many times the key to overcoming a major obstacle is to first deal with what we allow our minds to focus on and realign our thinking to be on par with the Word of God. Meditation, memorization, and reflection of God’s word on a daily basis will demolish every wrong thought.

Biblical Truth #4) Know that nothing is too hard for God.

“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27).

When faced with an enormous obstacle, it’s easy to fall into the error of believing that the obstacle may be bigger than God. Yet we know that’s not true in our hearts; however, our actions of unbelief and doubt reveal otherwise. We must stand firm in the faith that God is who He says He is—the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Nothing is too difficult for our God to help us overcome.

Biblical Truth #5) Recognize that God uses obstacles for His purposes.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).

Obstacles not only remind us of our weakness in and of ourselves, but they also are a reminder that God is in control. The Lord is never caught off guard by our problems or situations. He uniquely prepares and chooses us for the journey of dealing with our obstacles. In the process of working through and around them, we grow up in the faith and our testimony encourages others to press forward in the Lord.

Scriptures on Overcoming: Obstacles are part of the Christian Journey

When we get to heaven, we won’t have to deal with any obstacles. Our time on this earth is the process of proving our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Obstacles have destroyed many people’s faith because they gave up and turned their focus away from the Lord. Yet for those of us who stare down the obstacles just as David did to Goliath—we will walk away in victory.

Article by Crystal McDowell

Crystal McDowell is a writer, speaker, and teacher with a passion to encourage believers to know and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ through the practical application of God’s word.  

Crystal and her husband, Marshall, raise their five children in Bloomington, IL. As a freelance writer and editor for over 13 years, Crystal has published numerous Christian curriculums for Sunday School and VBS as well as many articles dealing with marriage, motherhood, and relationships. She’s a weekly staff writer for www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com as well as writing her own blog at https://crystalmcdowellspeaks.blogspot.com.