Dealing with Stumbling Blocks

UV 3393/10000 Dealing with Stumbling Blocks
Woe ( judgement is coming) to the world because of stumbling blocks and temptations to sin! It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person on whose account or through whom the stumbling block comes!

Matthew 18 v 7

We can fall, according to this uni-verse taught by Jesus Himself, due to either temptations or stumbling blocks which are traps or snares deliberately set up by the enemy or his agents to make us fall. We are to be wary of both, on the guard and prayerful for to be prayerful is to be powerful as Jesus Himself showed. We will be able only by His grace to ward off the temptation and keep ourselves from stumbling. Jesus taught we should be ruthless in dealing with the source of our stumbling. Whether it is even our own eye or a hand or a limb that causes us to stumble, we should be willing to deal with it firmly or decisively so that we lead a victorious life. We should pluck out the cause by its roots from our lives so that it does not surface again.

The stumbling block can either come from within our own nature, our natural weaknesses or it can come through our inner circle, even from among our near and dear. We should be watchful to identify it early and deal with it in a determined manner. The stumbling block can come due to our own egos, our hidden pride. Hence, we should daily ask the Lord, the Holy Spirit to examine us as our spiritual doctor or divine Physician to diagnose what is wrong or even likely to go wrong. Once He identifies the hidden issue, we should allow the Spirit to remove it surgically from our inner being and lives.

The uni-verse warns us that in addition to we being careful not to stumble, we should not ourselves become a stumbling block in the spiritual progress and maturity of others. We should not be the cause of temptation, discouragement or falling away from faith of others we have some influence over. We ourselves not growing to spiritual and emotional maturity can be the source of harm for others who are not believers. Hence, we have a duty to the Lord, to ourselves and others to grow to the maturity of Christ, to grow in the sunshine and rain of His grace and wisdom to our highest potential, to remove anything that hinders or slows our growth and spiritual progress.