4 Obstacles In Becoming A Gospel Family

Even the healthiest of families will find areas in their homes where spiritual growth is needed. Families will recognize spots where discipleship, worship, or missions could be strengthened, more consistent, or more joyful. All of us could hear a new mission from the Lord for our homes, and the truth is, this can be overwhelming.

Seeing the difference between where we are and where we want to be can leave us discouraged, like when we have to keep zooming out on our phone’s GPS just to see the entire route between our green dot (where we are) and the red dot (where we’re going). That long blue line taunts us as it stretches across our entire screen, as though our cell phone battery will die before we complete our charted journey.

Everyday that we reach toward becoming a family that enjoys the Gospel for the glory of God, will also be a day that we are struck with obstacle after obstacle, challenging this newfound vision. 

Here are 4 Common Obstacles to Becoming a Gospel Family, with a word on overcoming them all: 

(1) Guilt: Many families will immediately feel guilty as they begin the journey, mourning the years that didn't find them spiritually leading their homes, feeling guilty over lost time. I do not believe this is from the Lord. While the Spirit will convict us of sin in our homes, and the kindness of the Lord will lead us to repentance, this is all meant to find us turning to Christ and his will for our hearts and homes. We overcome this feeling of guilt by bringing our family's past to the Lord and allowing him to cover us in his grace and freedom. 

(2) Disbelief: Many families believe their homes are beyond repair; that restoration is out of reach. They see the cracks in their walls and think that they are impossible to fix. They can't imagine their family enjoying family devotions or praying with their spouse or serving together. However, for the Lord, nothing is impossible. He can give us a family we never imagined possible. When we trust Jesus with our brokenness, he proves himself to be our healer, our redeemer, and the restorer of our homes. 

(3) Fear: As the Lord enables us to hurdle guilt and disbelief, and as we round the first corner of this race, fear often settles in: Fear that we will not be able to lead well; Fear that our family members won't follow the vision; Fear that nothing will change. But we overcome this obstacle when we fear God more than we fear man; when we remember that he is the ultimate shepherd of our homes and that our leading begins and ends with us simply following him. That's the foundation of our call and responsibility: to follow Christ so that our families might do the same. 

(4) Discouragement: There will be failures along the way. There will be family devotions that get distracted, times of prayer that are interrupted, and busy schedules that hijack good intentions. These sort of days usher in feelings of discouragement, and discouragement can be a difficult obstacle to overcome. But we praise the Lord that he is able to meet us when we fall and give us the strength to continue to pursue his will for our family. 

I pray against this discouragement. I pray against a sense of the impossible. I pray against a feeling of failure before you even begin. I pray against fear that your family won’t follow, doubt that anything can change, and guilt that you haven’t done all of this already. And I pray that as competing voices of the world, temptations of the flesh, and lies of the enemy come, we will further cling to the Good Shepherd, yield to the Spirit, and claim the truth of God's Word for our families.