When obstacles hit your life, your first reaction is probably “No thanks, I want easy breezy.” But what if those very obstacles are actually perfect gifts designed to set you free? What if God is using every challenge to upgrade your life in ways you never imagined?

This might challenge your thinking, but stay with me. There’s profound wisdom here that could transform how you view every difficult situation you face.

The Wisdom Behind the Struggle

Jim Rohn said something brilliant: “Don’t wish for things to be easier, wish for you to be better.” The deeper I dig into scripture, the more brilliant this becomes. James 1:17 tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from our Heavenly Father.

Think about what makes a gift perfect. If you’re heading out for a hiking trip in Colorado next week and suddenly realize you don’t have proper hiking boots, someone giving you boots that fit perfectly would be exactly what you need. A perfect gift is something you need, whether you realize it or not.

God knows what we need. John 3:27 says we cannot receive anything unless it’s from the Father, and that includes our tough times, obstacles, and challenges. If He’s a perfect Father, sometimes those obstacles are exactly what we need for our growth and freedom.

Breaking Free from Unhealthy Dependencies

Over the past year, God has moved some people I cared about away from me, people I had helped and loved. Through this, He showed me not to be reliant on anyone else. Proverbs tells us that fear of man is a snare, but trust in the Lord brings safety.

If you’re a people pleaser, a perfect gift for you wouldn’t be suddenly pleasing everyone. It would be realizing that some people, no matter how hard you try, you can’t please, and you’re not meant to please them. The Apostle Paul said he couldn’t be both a people pleaser and a servant of Christ.

God uses obstacles to set you free from your addiction to other people’s opinions and your emotional attachment to money. Do you trust in the Lord or do you trust in your bank account? Jesus said at the end of Luke 16 that you cannot serve God and money. You’ll either love one and despise the other.

If you have an unhealthy addiction to money as your source of identity, safety, security, status, and significance, what might God do? He might take it away to set you free from that addiction and help you realize that He is source and money is just a resource.

Your Mindset: Fortress or Temple?

The way we think rules our life. Our mindset is either a fortress or a temple for the living God. A fortress is built to keep something out. A temple is built to invite someone in.

God is remodeling our lives. He’s renovating us, restoring us, rebuilding us, renewing us. Restoring our thinking is a prime piece of our spiritual walk because stress is an inside job. Stress isn’t caused by externals. When we say “He’s really stressing me out” or “This situation is so stressful,” we’re missing the truth.

Stress is caused by the way you perceive situations, by the way you think about them. It’s an inside job, and stress is optional.

Remember when Jesus was sleeping on the boat during the storm? The disciples were freaking out, but Jesus just said, “Peace,” and the water became calm. He didn’t wake up stressed. He simply addressed the situation. Stress was optional for Him, and it’s optional for you too.

The Habit of Self-Condemnation

Most of you know the verse that says there’s no condemnation in Christ, but you love to condemn yourself because it’s become a habit. It’s not your identity, it’s a habit, and habits can be broken. The Holy Spirit is a genius at breaking bad habits, but we have to give Him permission.

Sometimes we fall in love with the habit of being a victim. We get addicted to an identity that’s not worthy of Christ’s death on the cross. We develop a “How do I beat myself up today?” routine.

The Game-Changing Question

Here’s the part that might challenge your theology: Was Jesus punished enough for sin? Did He say “It is finished”? Are you saved by your works or by grace? If you’re saved by grace, not by works, then why do you keep beating yourself up?

Is your self-condemnation helpful to something that was already finished? For twenty years, I’ve been teaching people how to make more money and crush it in business. But here’s the connection: your business problem is a personal problem. If you continue thinking you have to condemn yourself even though there’s no condemnation in Christ, it’s going to affect your business results.

Did the Father pour every last ounce of wrath, anger, and indignation upon Jesus? If the Father has any capacity to be angry in this life, then what exactly did the cross do?

We cannot be schizophrenic about the gospel. We can’t be double-minded, thinking “It is finished, but I still need to beat myself up.” The gospel is either the most powerful, astonishing, amazing, incredible good news ever, or it’s a lie. Which one is it?

Walking as a New Creation

You’re called to walk as a new creation, and for most people, that’s actually harder than self-condemnation. Beating yourself up is easy, very worldly, and the enemy loves it. But walking as a new creation, having boldness and freshness, singing a new song? That’s riskier and scarier for most people.

It’s comfortable to just beat yourself up and say you’re worthless, no good, a filthy sinner. You’re used to that. But it’s not helping anyone, and it’s disrespectful to the cross.

Walking as a new creation without hating, judging, shaming, or condemning yourself or anyone else? That’s a much bolder ask than continuing to flog yourself.

Everything Is About Your Freedom

Everything that God is doing in your life is about your freedom, your release, your upgrade. You can’t have a loving God who’s always angry at what you do. It doesn’t compute.

There’s never going to be a situation that isn’t about your freedom. Every frustration, every agitation, every obstacle is an opportunity to ask two great questions: What are you doing, God? What am I to do about this?

Instead of reacting to the problem person, obstacle, or circumstance, ask what you’re supposed to learn and what you’re supposed to do.

Blessing Those Who Oppose You

When people say negative things about you or throw stones, bless them. The person bashing you, backstabbing you, or making stuff up about you? They’re valuable souls to Christ. Every single one of them.

Even the person who drops hate comments is a valuable soul. You’re not the judge. Everyone who voted differently than you, reads a different version of the Bible than you, is a valuable soul. Thank God for them, bless them.

First Peter 3:9 says don’t trade evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless so that you can receive a blessing. When you bless people who are nasty to you, you actually get a blessing too.

You Can’t Fail, Only Learn

With God, you can’t fail a test, but you’re given unlimited tries to pass. If someone agitates you, frustrates you, sends you off the rails, and you don’t learn anything from it, you’ll get the lesson again. Names might change, but the lesson remains because He loves you too much to let you stay the same.

When we consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, something must shift in how we view ourselves. We move away from sin habits by focusing on what we want and delighting in what’s good for us, not by condemning ourselves and acting like Jesus on the cross wasn’t enough.

If it was finished, if it was enough, if you’re saved by grace and not by what you do, then walk in the new creation. That may be scarier than condemning yourself, but it’s the freedom Christ died to give you.