Stumbling Blocks

Photo by Sen on Unsplash

“Build up, build up, prepare the way! Remove the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.” -Isaiah 57:14 WEB

Today’s Everyday Sanctuary meditation prompt is “remove what obstructs me,” based on Isaiah 57:14.  My first thought is Legos. I imagine from a child’s perspective, laying on the floor making little Lego creations, that the parent comes in like a towering giant with a booming voice: “REMOVE WHAT OBSTRUCTS ME!”  Legos are so often a stumbling block.

But maybe that’s not what this scripture is about, since Legos weren't invented until 1932[1]. The previous verse says:

When you cry out,
    let those things you’ve gathered save you!
The wind will lift them all;
    one breath will take them away.
but those taking refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.

So “remove what obstructs me” is a plea to remove whatever keeps us from taking refuge in God, whether it be “those things you’ve gathered” (which might include Legos—just saying) or our own stubbornness and mistakes.

What obstructs us?  What gets in our way?

For me it is so often myself. My fears, my expectations, my getting stuck in thinking things need to happen a certain way.

“One breath will take them away.”

Breathing a prayer for God to blow away whatever is in the way of God’s work in me and through me.

Thanks, God.

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billund,_Denmark.