Have you ever been driving down the road, just enjoy the trip, when a detour sign suddenly appears? Before you know it you’re headed off some side street headed away from where you want to be. Detours are a pain!
Right now there’s a lot of road resurfacing being done in Walla Walla. As I drive around town I run into one detour sign after another, all seeming to point me away from where I want to go. It can be frustrating!
Sometimes life can feel like that. You set off in one direction, with a goal in mind, only to run into a detour that sends you down a completely different path or makes it take longer to get where you wanted to go. You fuss and fume at the change, but you have no choice but to follow where the signs are leading.
The thing we forget about detours is they’re there for a reason. They steer us away from danger, directing us around obstacles, and show us a better way. If we will trust in the engineers who created them, detours may actually get us where we’re headed a lot faster than if we just barged ahead, ignoring the signs.
Our Heavenly Father tells us in Isaiah 48:17, “I am the Lord you God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” Sometimes God puts detours in our path, which can be frustrating from our limited human perspective, but He sees the end from the beginning and always directs us in the way that is best for us in the long run.
Today, put your trust in the Father. He knows what He’s doing. When He puts a detour in your way, instead of getting frustrated, follow His leading. If you do, you will never lose your way, and someday you’ll end up where you wanted to be all along – safe in your Heavenly Home.