By Lisa S. Tarno

I am inspired today from God’s word in Acts 28:31. The phrase “with full boldness and without hindrance” seem to resonate in my mind….in my life. There have been so many attempts to distract me in my personal life upon moving to Colorado and currently with stepping out into a new adventure by faith. In truth, some of them derailed me for a fraction of time…honestly I didn’t know what good could come out of some of them…but I do know God’s AMAZING redemption ability and to this I avail myself.

I often marvel at the life of the apostle Paul. His tenacity is something to aspire towards. Acts 28:31 was his resolve and I LOVE it! Perhaps it was his “secret” to learning to live content in whatever situation. That resolve…could that be his secret? To know that trouble happens in life and all the more when we step out in faith to do what God calls us to do…we may feel we have misinterpreted the call because of the obstacles and hindrances and oppression. Beth Moore writes, “When do you presume God couldn’t possibly have called you to this place where so many things go wrong? The final destination of our calling could very well take the last drop of our lifeblood. That’s entirely God’s call.”

Maybe it takes a garden variety of “hindrances” in our journeys in life to finally awaken tenacity within us. I love that Paul wasn’t hindered by his hindrances!! For those of us who have read of his journey, consider this excerpt again from Beth Moore.

“He kept pressing forward and refused to let the hindrance itself become a hindrance. He kept his squinting eyes on the goal. He didn’t get furious with God over all that had been permitted in his path or demand to know why God would make His will so utterly impossible to fulfill. HE JUST STAYED AT IT. HE BELIEVED. HE PERSEVERED.” (Emphasis mine)

This is motivation for all of us in whatever area of our lives: Careers, Faith, Marriages, Raising a family, New opportunities. I always welcome an encourager in my life. God’s word is often that. I often marvel that the Bible, though controversial to some, offers principles to guide our lives successfully to those who would otherwise say it is myth. Kingdom principles very much are the pillars of success in an earthly world.The principles I’m writing about are TENACITY, OVERCOMING, CONTENTEDNESS, RESOLVE, FAITH, COURAGE and REDEMPTION.

Focusing on the very last principle, redemption, is a beautiful concept for those who believe that God can redeem all things. Whatever comes at us in life, He can use and make it count for good. It’s not saying that all that hits our lives is good, but God can bring good out of it…he really can. If we all could take the challenge to RESOLVE to live unhindered (the hits in life) and be open to what can be learned from them (have teachable spirit)…we have a recipe for success. Today I am inspired to walk in that direction. I want to RESOLVE to live UNHINDERED even though there will be hindrances. I, too, want to live the life God intends me to live.