Overcoming Obstacles

Rev. Dr. David M. Oliver

First United Methodist Church

Massillon, Ohio

November 1, 2026

Text: Joshua 3:7-17

Opening Prayer: Almighty God, whose Word is authority and power and whose way is love, grant unto us clear minds, understanding hearts, and willing spirits so that we may wisely appropriate your Word of Truth. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

I have updated and am reprising a message which I shared with you three years ago. It remains relevant and a good reminder of what God invites us to do as we face obstacles in life and faith.

Challenges abound in our day. On an international level there is war in Israel, Ukraine, and Iran. Life is grim for tens of thousands of refugees living in makeshift tents and huts made even more difficult as winter approaches. Countless numbers of people across the world are facing recovery challenges from natural disasters such as devastating fires, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. Communities as close as Dover Ohio are dealing with recent suicides of students.

Through the first three quarters of 2026, the United States has recorded 9,790 gun deaths and 18,199 injuries from shootings. Through October 2026, in the U.S. there have been 350 mass shootings (defined as four or more people shot, injured, or killed, excluding the shooter). This represents a slight increase compared to the same period in 2025. Recovery from all these traumas often takes years if it is accomplished at all.

For teenagers and parents and grandparents of teenagers, there is often a challenge of overcoming the generational differences in communication and learning to understand one another. It is not easy for teens to grow up, begin to assert their independence and still honor parental priorities and family concerns. Some negotiation and careful communication is required so that people are sensitive to each other’s needs. These skills are also important as children grow up and marry. Learning to live happily with others always takes skill, perseverance, and hard work.

There has been non-stop talk about the economy and the rising prices in the grocery, at the gas pump, at the pharmacy, and for big ticket items. Some people are having to choose between food, medicine, and health insurance. The cost of renting a house has vastly outpaced inflation.

Increasingly, many adults find themselves faced with the challenges of dealing with ailing parents. This so-called “Sandwich Generation” is often torn between trying to care for children finishing college and starting careers while also needing to invest time and energy in the care of their parents, often at great distance and considerable expense.

Several people we know in this church and community have been struggling with health challenges. Our prayer list is one small indicator of what people we know are facing.

Just last week we remembered and gave thanks for those who had died in the last twelve months. What is less visible, but no less difficult, is dealing with the emptiness, the loneliness, and the cascade of decisions and changes caused by the passing of these loved ones.

Some people’s ability to deal with stress has reached their limits. Isolation, fear, anger, even violence and addiction are common consequences. Life in this world is not for the faint of heart.

 As we examine the Scriptures this morning, I invite you to think about the obstacles you are facing. Notice when and how the people of God were faithful and unfaithful. Consider the blessing and the consequences of their actions and its connection to your own life. Ask the Lord to help you to see and make some connections between your life and the power of God’s living Word.

Before we focus specifically on this morning’s reading from the book of Joshua, I will give you the broad context of the passage. The Hebrews had wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Some of you may recall that their leader, Moses, had led them through the wilderness to the edge of the Promised Land and had sent twelve spies into the land of Canaan. The spies had found rich agricultural lands, lands flowing with milk and honey. Bunches of grapes were so large they had to be carried on a pole between two men. Dates and figs were plentiful. Two of the spies came back bearing a good report. Ten spies returned bearing a negative report. Everyone agreed on one thing, however. The land was  incredibly valuable and beautiful. The problem that divided them was whether they were strong enough to take the land.

Only Joshua and Caleb had the eyes of faith to feel confident enough in God to help their people enter the land and battle their strong adversaries. The other Hebrew spies focused on their inability rather than focusing on the supreme power and ability of God. Whereas Joshua and Caleb were certain of God’s help and provision, the ten felt overwhelmed by the obstacles they would face upon entering Canaan.

If you wish to complete the Sermon Listening Guide, please take it out of your bulletin at this time.

Several insights can be drawn from the experience of the Hebrews for those of us who seek to follow God today. First, when it comes to following God, faith and trust is always required. Second, God gives us challenges which will stretch our faith and deepen our trust. This keeps us from self-reliance and causes us to rely on the Lord. Third, obedience is a matter of conviction rather than a matter of convenience. Are we going to take God at his word or not? Fourth, disobedience always comes with consequences.

The catastrophic consequences of the lack of trust on the part of the ten warriors, despite having seen numerous miracles of God, was that the entire group of Hebrews wandered in the wilderness for the next forty years. A journey which would have taken only eleven days of walking ended up taking an entire generation. All but Joshua and Caleb died on that arduous trek. Only the two men who had the eyes of faith were given the privilege of entering God’s Promised Land.

Now let’s think about ourselves. When was the last time you faced a dilemma and prayed over the choices you had? Did you seek the will of God in your decision? Did you sense a leading in one direction but backed away from it out of fear that you might fail or that you might displease someone?

When it comes to decisions of faith, failure almost always seems like a possibility. Why do I say this? Because God often call us to step out in faith to accomplish things that you and I cannot do in our own strength, wisdom, or power.

Taking steps of faith necessitates the power and enablement of the living God. To use another image, you and I should not expect to play it safe and be on an adventure with God. God often calls his people to be and do things which challenge our comfort and our convenience. God does this so that we learn to depend on God more than depending on ourselves.

This was the dilemma faced by the Hebrews at the edge of the Promised Land. They could have marched in and taken the land. God had called them to do so. Instead, they did what they thought was best. They moved forward in their own wisdom, taking matters into their own hands, and it brought disastrous consequences.

This reminds me of God speaking through the prophet Isaiah to the people of Israel, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says to the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Proverbs 14:12 contrasts our ways and God’s ways saying, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

We learn from the experience of the Hebrews and these two Scriptures that we cannot pioneer with God and stay where we are. We cannot go with God and remain the same. The Christian life is called a journey of faith for a reason. We are traveling with God. We are on the go with God. We must entrust ourselves to God. We must rely on God’s care and provision.

The account we read in the book of Joshua opens at the end of the forty years of wandering. Once again, the Hebrews were back at the edge of the Jordan River. God was still calling them to cross into the Promised Land. God had been incredibly patient. God still had the same purpose and plan for them and saw that the people were now ready. Moses had died but not before raising up Joshua to be his successor as the leader of the Hebrews.

Picture with me the scene. It was March 22, the tenth day of the month of Nisan in the ancient Hebrew calendar. The Jordan River was at flood stage following the spring rains. The river was overflowing its banks. The water was running swiftly, even violently.

Now imagine for a moment going to one of the rivers in the Muskingum Water Shed District in the spring. I am most familiar with the Tuscarawas River. Even with the dams controlling the water flow, low lying areas are often flooded. The torrent is so strong that it creates a force of several hundred pounds of pressure per cubic foot of water.

When the Hebrews came to the Jordan River, even the strongest person would not have been able to stand up under the immense pressure of the flow. Only the strongest swimmers would be able to cross over, perhaps hundreds of yards downstream. Remember, however, that these were desert people who had only enough water to drink, never mind enough water in which to learn to swim. The Jordan looked like an immense, frightening, overwhelming obstacle.

The biblical scholar, Dr. Raymond Vander Laan says, “The Jordan at flood stage was symbolic to the Canaanites, the people who lived in the land. It represented the power of their Baal god, the god of fertility. To cross the Jordan would not only be crossing a physical obstacle, it would also mean overcoming a spiritual obstacle. It would mean a defeat of the god, Baal.”

God said that the priests should carry the Ark of the Covenant into the river and that the Hebrews were to follow them. The banks of the Jordan are often steep, muddy and very slippery. There was no way to tell what depth they would be entering. With the natural mind, it might have felt like they were risking death by drowning as they faced the raging Jordan River. Not only that, but the Ark of the Covenant, the very symbol of God’s presence and power, could be lost in the flood waters.

The priests had to have great faith as they marched forward to the water’s edge, carrying that heavy, gold-covered Ark. For three days they had prayed. Their faith had been fortified. They were determined to act on and obey the Word of God and the instruction of Joshua.

As soon as the sandals of the priest touched the water, the Jordan began to separate. Amazingly, the flood waters piled up. For the second time in history, God divided the waters and helped his people cross to freedom. The first time had been the crossing of the Red Sea and escaping slavery in Egypt. This time, they crossed from the desolation of the wilderness, a land known for its harshness and heat, the land of deserts, into the Promised Land, a land of plenty, a luxuriant land, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land which was to be the gift of God to the Hebrew people.

For people of faith, this story reminds us that to follow God always requires that we must step out in faith. We will never see what God can do until we step out. We will never witness the miracles of God until we take a risk and face our fears and unknowns with faith. We will not witness much of God’s power until we decide not to lean so much on ourselves and learn to trust God more fully with what we are facing.

God wants people to depend on him. God wants us to lean on him, to pray and ask for God’s help and blessing. If you and I are going to overcome our obstacles, it means learning four key faith lessons. They are as follows:

1. God is always faithful.

No matter what we encounter in life, no matter what our circumstances may be, God is always faithful. This does not mean that our circumstances are always favorable or pleasing. It means that despite all circumstances, God stands with us and will never fail us nor forsake us (Joshua 1:5).

2. God will never lead you or me to a place where God cannot also keep us.

This is tremendously reassuring especially in times of difficulty and pain. We need not, indeed, we must not rely solely on ourselves to face life’s obstacles. We must learn to rely confidently on God. In each of life’s choices, God knows the way that will lead to true life, abundant joy, and lasting peace. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.”

When parents and teens are dealing with one another, God will help us to love one another through the conflicts and trials. When working on a marriage or dealing with separation or divorce, God will help us navigate the pain and the difficulty as we focus our faith on God’s powerful love. God is the one who helps us to overcome our obstacles. God helps us put our lives back together after a calamity or crisis. God helps us to learn from and to make sense of our suffering.

When facing changes in work or profession, or stepping into retirement, God is with us and will use all things for our growth and maturity. Romans 8:28 says, “In all things, God works for good, for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.” This is the ‘All Things’ Plan of God. The faithful seek God and trust God to act on their behalf. They know that God is their advocate not their adversary. They turn to God at all times and especially seek to learn from and grow in faith in times of adversity.

3. Faith in God always means that we have to step out of our comfort zone and let go of our desire for convenience and control. The people of God were called to walk across the Jordan River, not raft down it, or tube on it. They had to face the flood. They had to walk through the peril. Only by stepping into the rushing torrent did they discover God’s provision and adequacy. They learned a valuable lesson which they would need for the next phase of their journey as they entered the Promised Land.

4. Faith in God means that we cannot go with God and remain the same. We cannot pioneer with God and stay where we are. The people of God are always called to a faith journey which lasts a lifetime. We do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. This faith in the living, loving God is sufficient and propels us forward on our journey.

I have seen these truths and faith lessons confirmed in our journey together at First Church. God has called us to a God-sized vision for our community. We have taken meaningful steps to build partnerships with other community leaders and organizations to address homelessness,  food insecurity, and the needs of senior adults.

This church has faced overwhelming obstacles in generations past. The devastating fire which destroyed our nearly new church building is one example. Finding a reason to live and continue to minister in the heart of Massillon with a heart for Massillon has been the greatest challenge many of us here have faced in the last five years…and face it we have with a vital trust in God and a commitment to work together to be God’s agents of transformation in our community. We have come thus far by faith, and we will continue to move forward together in the name Jesus Christ, with the power of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God.

Let us pray. Thank you, dear God, for the lessons of faith we can learn from our ancestors. Deliver us from making the same mistakes as they did. Forgive us for the times when we are hesitant and slow of heart to trust you and obey your voice. Praise you, Lord, that acting in faith always makes sense. Help us to discern what you are leading us to be and to do. Help us to be faithful every day, every step of the way in the journey of faith. We dedicate ourselves and this church to fulfilling your call in this generation. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.