Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you fail to focus on the Lord.  

Perseverance is not so much one long race, but rather a   series of short runs of determination which are connected together like the links of a chain.   Kent McClain

The race does not always belong to the swift, but to  those who keep running.

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

Philippians 3: 12-14   12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,  14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 5:3-5   3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;  4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Proverbs 24: 16-18   16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of calamity. 17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; 18 or the Lord will see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him.

Psalm 37: 3-7;23-25 3 Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.  7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; 23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way.  24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.  25 I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken.