OVERCOME ANY OBSTACLE

On a 2024 high school mission trip in Orlando, Florida, our team of students was divided into two separate groups. The goal was to complete the challenging low-ropes course at the local YWAM campus. The only instructions provided were to find a way to get each group successfully through the circular path without touching the ground. But each group needed to complete it in opposite directions. As I engaged with my group, our competitive nature quickly took over. We wanted to be the first group to finish! 

My group attacked the course with enthusiasm. Through good communication and intentional teamwork, we were quickly halfway through the challenges. But one particular obstacle stopped us in our tracks. The gap to the next obstacle was too sizeable. Despite all of our brainstorming efforts, we could not find a way to get anybody across. The other group soon caught up with us, and discouragement set in. Our only consolation was that the other group was also getting dejected. If they couldn’t figure out a way across the obstacle, at least they wouldn’t beat us. 

Soon, everyone realized that the only way across the gap was if the two groups worked together. Teaming up with someone on each side of the divide, a solution quickly became apparent. Setting aside our competitive nature for a moment, we teamed up with the other group and soon both sets of students were making progress. Then a funny thing happened. One by one, each of us realized that the exercise had nothing to do with winning. The purpose was true teamwork! The initial separation into two groups was not so that we could compete, but in order that we could succeed!

This month in chapels, we will focus on God’s design for His children to be United. Speaking through the apostle Paul, His plan for us is to “agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10). Our human nature often tends to lean toward self-centered comparisons, desiring to elevate self at the expense of others.  

God’s nature is founded upon Unity. Jesus prays over his disciples “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). Through the power of the Spirit, His fruit in our lives guides us to consider others more significant than ourselves. Through our collective faith in God, unity releases God’s character through us, so that the world may come to know Him as well! May we all be United this month to better understand this truth and pursue a community identity that can overcome any obstacles!