Pastor Virgil Lee
A few months ago, on my way home from work, I ran into four detours. I can understand one or two, but every way I tried to get into my neighborhood led to another orange sign that said, “Road closed—detour this way.” By the third one, I was irritated, and by the fourth, I was honestly just mad.
I started questioning the road crews and their planning, and I imagine I’m not the only one who has done that. But then that still, small voice in the back of my mind began to speak, not loudly, but clearly. The thought came: What are these detours showing you about yourself? Why is your heart so stirred up? You’re not late for anything.
Ouch. Isn’t that just like the Lord? Right when we feel justified in our frustration, He gently puts His finger on what is really going on in our hearts. As I followed that fourth detour, I began to pray. What He showed me was simple but convincing. Like many of us, I have my plans and my ideas; many of them may be good and right. But when the route changes, our GPS may recalculate while our hearts stay fixed on the path we desired. Any change to that plan can feel personal, as though something has been taken from us.
All through Scripture, we see that the Lord often leads people on detours, sometimes for correction, sometimes for protection, and sometimes for a divine appointment they never saw coming. However, when the Lord is leading, there is always purpose in the change of direction. We see it in the accounts of Moses at the burning bush, Samuel anointing David, Jesus speaking with the woman at the well, and Paul on his missionary journeys.
Here’s the encouragement I want to leave with us today. Proverbs 3:5–6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” What a comfort that is. When we trust the Lord and are willing to follow where He leads, He really does direct our paths. That means the detours in life may actually be blessings in disguise—moments when the Lord is leading us another way for His purposes. We may not understand it at the moment, but who knows what the Lord might be doing through that interruption? Who knows who we may encourage or love well because He led us down a different road? When we begin to see things this way, we become more aware of what the Lord is doing instead of focusing only on what disrupted our plans.
When our perspective changes, our attitude begins to change too. Then we are able to love and engage the people around us in deeper, more meaningful ways.