Do you ever wonder why God makes life so challenging; why He places so many obstacles in our way? Do you ever wish that He would just get out of your life and leave you alone?

During one of my Lenten Sunday homilies, I heard nervous laughing when I asked, “Are you planning to go to hell?” Then when I quickly asked, “Do you think you’ll go to hell?” I heard nothing. It’s difficult to make light of a place that most people fear. I hope and pray that neither you nor anyone else has visited www.reservations.com and reserved a choice spot in hell. There are no choice spots in hell; there is only anguish, pain, suffering, torment, and the absence of God. Who wants to experience any of this tribulation in the afterlife?

The existence of hell is why God makes life so “challenging”; why He places so many “obstacles” in our way; and why He won’t just get out of our lives and leave us alone. God will do anything to keep us from going to hell. God doesn’t make life challenging. We make our own life challenging because we refuse to place our complete trust in Him. God doesn’t place obstacles in our way. We just ignore the opportunities He gives us to deepen our love for Him. If God were to get out of our life and leave us alone, we would be without hope; and if we’re without hope, what reason do we have to live a productive and fruitful life?

In the Book of Genesis, God says to Abram, “Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.” Sounds like God challenged Abram. Sounds like God placed an obstacle in Abram’s life at a time when he and his wife Sarai were content and comfortable in their homeland. It sounds like God is not going to get out of Abram’s life and leave him alone.

What does Abram, Abraham do? He breaks with his earthly ties---ties with family, home, and community---and puts his complete trust in God’s promise. Abraham responds to God’s call. He believes and trusts totally in God.

Just as God had a plan for Abraham’s salvation; He has a plan for your salvation. What is your response to God’s plan? Do you want to do God’s will because you fear hell; or, do you want to do God’s will because you love Him, trust Him, and want to spend eternity with Him in heaven? Wanting to do good because you fear hell is not an unacceptable reason for trying to do God’s will; but wanting to do good because you love God, trust Him, and want to spend eternity with Him in heaven is a superior reason.

Saint Paul says in his second letter to Timothy, “Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.” God give us the strength and ability to take on any challenge and to move any obstacle. Remember the song from a number of years back that talked of looking for love in all the wrong places? Do we look in all the wrong places for the strength we need to face difficult challenges and obstacles that come our way? We must look to God for all the strength we need to triumph over any challenge and to remove any obstacle that stands in the way of our eternal salvation.

My wife Cindy and I recently went to a Catholic seminar at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church in Imperial, Missouri. Christopher West was the speaker. He gives talks around the world on Pope John Paul II’s writing “Theology of the Body.” Let me paraphrase a quote from Mr. West. “Do not look to another human being to be your ultimate fulfillment and strength. Don’t hang your coat on a hook that cannot support the weight. Look to Christ, look to God for fulfillment and strength. Only He can support the weight of your coat.”

After His transfiguration, Jesus tells the three pillars of the Church---Peter, James, and John---“Rise, and do not be afraid.” Jesus Christ says the same thing to us. “Rise, and do not be afraid. I am with you always.”

Think about the difficult challenges you face and the obstacles that you believe are hindering your success. Are you working with God to tackle these challenges? Are you standing side by side with God to get around the obstacles? Let’s put some practical application to my words as we deal with two situations: losing a job and facing a life-threatening disease.

We acknowledge that God can work alone. He does not need our help. But, He prefers to work with us. Before you lose a job or contract a life-threatening disease, make prayer a daily part of your life: in good times and in bad. Prayer will deepen your awareness of and your love for God. Trust totally in God and His mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. You can write God out of your life; but every challenge and obstacles will remain. Who in their right mind wants to hang their hopes and dreams on a hook that can’t support the weight?

Work with God and the people He sends your way to develop new job skills and to improve your existing ones, to develop an exercise program and to increase your knowledge of healthy diets and habits. Develop friendships and a desire to help others. Reflect a positive attitude to everyone you meet. When you lose your job, get off your butt, tell others (especially God) you need their help, send out resumes, and interview with God’s strength in your heart. When you find a new job, thank everyone and do your best work. When you contract a life-threatening disease, ask everyone you know and meet to pray for you and your family. Listen to the doctors and experts that God sends your way. Follow their advice through surgery and recovery. Most importantly, accept this reality: only God fully understands His plan for you. Place your trust in Him, and always remember---Jesus Christ is a willing accomplice in our search for eternal salvation.

For more insight read CCC paragraphs 144-47, 280, 1721, 1726, 2566-67, 2590, 2598, 2602, 2616. Also, pull out your “Catholic” Bible and reference Gen 12:1-4a; Gen 22:1-18; Mt 10:37-39; 17:1-7; 28:18-20; Rom 8:16-18; Phil 4:13; 2 Tim 1:8-10; Heb 11:8-10; 12:5b-7a, 11; 1 Pet 1:3-9.