Frustrated by life’s detours? We may not know where we are headed, miss our turn, or be lost. But God knows where we are, and has directions to get us back on the right path. He is in the business of redeeming all our detours.
I wish there were warning signs to alert me that I am about to be lost, a detour is imminent, or that I am going to have to wait at every red stoplight.
But there isn’t. Fate likes to sneak silently up and then yell surprise.
I am driving two states away, enjoying alone time in the car. Just a podcast and me.
I enter a city I have driven through multiple times. But this time there is stop and go traffic 6 claustrophobic lanes across. 45 minutes pass with tightening muscles, before I realize I have never seen this part of the city before. I pull off and open my map app. Yup, I failed to get off the loop that circles the city, and now I am almost back where I entered the maze.
According to GPS, I should have gotten off 40 minutes ago.
Sitting in that parking lot trying to figure out where I was and when I should have gotten off the circle loop was nerve-racking. Especially when I realized that due to my mistake, I would now be driving in the dark.
There was nothing to do, but get back on the city loop, keep circling around, and this time, the second time around, take the correct exit and zoom south.
What did we do before GPS and all these directions that talk us to our destination?
For one, we used paper maps, and finding our way was bit more complicated.
Detours happen (and keep happening).
I used to think life was quite linear.
Point A, to point B, to point C. Arrival at destination.
Do these steps and this outcome is guaranteed.
Set a goal. Work hard. Goal accomplished.
Now I know better.
Life has detours. We get lost. Unexpected roadwork delays us. Our route suddenly seems to have taken us in the wrong direction because we don’t recognize where we are at. And we start wondering if God has abandoned us. Or if we have fallen off his radar.
Our problems and detours can be small, or they can seem insurmountably huge. A divorce, bankruptcy, difficult children, mental illness, abuse, eating disorders, addictions, infertility, prison time, job loses, health complications, deaths, unanswered prayers. And more.
Sometimes these problems and detours in life make us feel disqualified and unable to drive anymore.
But God doesn’t see it that way. He sees these situations as opportunities and growth. As ways for us to minister and empathize with others. As a way to call more people to him through us and our imperfect situations and decisions.
God is in the process of redeeming all our situations and detours. None is too big or small for him. And somehow, if we let him, he will work these opportunities to our good and the good of others. Glorifying himself and sanctifying us in the process.
Detours can be redeemed.
We want life predictable, steady, and even. But it never can be for long.
- Bad news will come.
- Illness will occur.
- People will sin and hurt one another.
- Loss will happen.
- Complications will follow.
But fear not. God always knows where you are at. He always knows the best path out for you. He can be you GPS out and reorient you back onto the road.
The road may not be the one you asked for, or dreamt of, but in the long run, God will take you on the road best for you. Because he knows you better than you know yourself.
We look at appearances, Instagram pictures, the highlight reel of others, and we compare our journey to those around us. But God sees us inside and out, knows our heart and needs, desires and shortcomings and takes us on our own best-chosen-for-us path. Which means all our paths will look different.
Embracing our detours.
Just because I sat in that parking lot outside of Walgreens, while people who looked like they knew where they were going walked past my car, didn’t mean I was forever lost. I soon found out where I was, thanks to GPS.
And while I may have felt lost, God always knew where I was. He knows where we are, even when we don’t.
God is in the business of redeeming our detours. Changing our flat tires. Directing us from Alaska to New York. Pointing us in the right direction. Helping us profit from a wrong turn or missed destination. Getting us over mountains and through deserts by recalculating our route.
In fact, he expects us to have detours, encounter speed bumps, and reroute us numerous times. And each of these he turns into a benefit for us, not a harm. Always he redeems them. Each and every one, forming us into someone more like him.
Don’t know what’s ahead? What detour you will encounter tomorrow or the next month? That’s all right. He’s got the best directions for you. Trust him.
Thanks for stopping by. Keep listening and you’ll know where to turn.
Theresa
Join the discussion: How has God used your detours for your good or the good of others?
May link up at Crystal Storms (#HeartEncouragement), Maree Dee (#Grace & Truth), Anita Ojeda (#inspirememonday), InstaEncouagements ((IE Link-Up), and Jeanne Takenaka (#tellhisstory).
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I remember making a ten year plan when I was in college…
God must have been chuckling!
So funny, Michele. I made a five year one a few years after we were married. Yup, God was laughing.
Oh this is so good, Theresa. How crazy that we try to plan our whole lives out only to discover that He already had a plan for our days.
You’ve packed so much truth here, friend.
Thanks Linda. We want to plan, but hold our plans loosely and be open to detours. This goes for big plans and daily plans. I don’t now how many times my carefully planned day has taken a different turn than I was expecting :).
This was encouraging. Sometimes the road seems to have come to a complete standstill…but God sees way past that multi-mile backup! (I’m looking forward to moving ahead again soon….) Just sayin. And great analogy:)
Love your analogies, Jennifer. It sure does seem like we are at a standstill, this past year and a half.
Unfortunately, this is true, “Sometimes these problems and detours in life make us feel disqualified and unable to drive anymore.”
I’m thankful this is true, “But God doesn’t see it that way. He sees these situations as opportunities and growth. He knows where we are, even when we don’t. God is in the business of redeeming our detours.”
Great analogy Theresa. Thanks for the encouragement.
What the enemy uses to discourage us and disqualify us, God can use to redeem us. And this experience can be used to help others. I have seen it time and time again. A former drug addict using their past to reach and minister to others who are where they used to be. A women who experienced miscarriages, encouraging other moms walking in grief. A person who has had financial bankruptcies imparting financial wisdom. I love that the bible is full of imperfect, sinful people who God used to further his kingdom. He sees none of us as unusable.
You are right about the same theme, Theresa!! Great post on detours. Always fascinating when several of us feel led to write on the same theme without ever connecting with each other.💕
Sometimes it seems like we pick up each other’s wavelength.
Theresa, this is such an encouraging post. Yes, I have been faced with detours, but I am so thankful He has redeemed them! Blessings~
Pan, just knowing that he redeems them, can help us not dread the detours.
“The road may not be the one you asked for, or dreamt of, but in the long run, God will take you on the road best for you. Because he knows you better than you know yourself.” Theresa, this is such an encouraging post. I’m so grateful we can trust Him as He leads and knows the way ahead.
I know, Joanne. I remind myself of this truth (God has me on the best road for me) when I get frustrated with life. It is such a comfort to realize he is in control and I don’t have to be. I follow his lead.
I’m so glad He views our detours as “as opportunities and growth.” I would like life to be linear, too, but I’m thinking our paths are often curvy as a grapevine in actuality. Something I’ve always taken comfort in is the saying, “If you fall off the path, God is big enough to get you back on.”
Jerralea, I like that saying. I also like the image of ‘curvy as grapevines.’ Grapevines bear fruit, and often our curvy paths are ways we can bear fruit.
Embracing our detours – that’s not always easy, but that’s great advice, Theresa. I’ve had quite a few detours in life, and many of them turned out better than my original plan. 🙂
I do agree. My plans for my life were not as original as God’s. 🙂 His were definitely better.
I had to laugh at this: “Fate likes to sneak silently up and then yell surprise.” It sure feels like that sometimes.
It’s a comfort to know our steps are ordered by the Lord, even when–especially when–they lead to a place we hadn’t meant to go.
Oh, it feels like fate has sneaked up on me so often. But always God helps me though. It is a comfort, Barbara, to know that God is ordering our steps.
I’ve lost track of how many times I made plans and God erased them and set me in a different direction. Rarely was it easy, but always the detour led me closer to Him.
Beautiful post, Theresa!
So often the detour does involve hard things that God uses for good things and to draw us closer. (I thought it was interesting we both wrote about the same topic – unexpected detours – this week.)
Oh, Theresa, this post is exactly what I needed right now. I’m in the middle of a detour–one of those annoying round-about’s–and I can’t seem to find my way out. But God.
Blessings to you,
Tammy
Blessings on your detour, Tammy. Hopefully God will direct you out of the round about soon.