Where Are Your Detours Taking You?
Navigating Life’s Detours with God
Life rarely goes as expected. You may have a plan, a dream, a clear vision for what your life is supposed to look like. But then circumstances beyond your control shake things up – a move across the country, a layoff, an illness, a strained relationship. Suddenly you find yourself on a detour you never saw coming.
In the Bible, Joseph was a man who faced many unexpected detours. As the earthly father of Jesus, charged with protecting the Son of God, Joseph’s life took dramatic turns. First, his wife Mary announced she was pregnant under unusual circumstances. Then a census forced them to travel while she was heavily pregnant. After Jesus’s birth, they fled to Egypt to escape danger. Just when they started to settle, they moved back to Israel, then eventually to Nazareth.
Joseph planned to raise Jesus in Bethlehem. He likely dreamed of watching his son grow up and learning the family trade in that city of new beginnings. But one detour after another derailed Joseph’s plans, eventually landing the family back in their sleepy hometown. We don’t know if Joseph struggled with anger, doubt, frustration, or fatigue along the way. But at every twist and turn, Joseph chose to trust and obey God. Each time life pivoted, “he got up and did as the Lord commanded.”
When your well-made plans crumble, detours test your character. They reveal the condition of your heart and where you place your hope. Will you cling to faith in God’s purpose and provision, even when nothing makes sense? Or will the inconvenience, fear, uncertainty and perceived injustice overwhelm you?
It’s tempting to grumble about delays, pains and problems. Struggling to control outcomes often backfires. Hurrying through challenges stunts opportunities to grow. And masking issues can harm relationships. But taking detours at face value misses their deeper purpose. With God, unexpected changes expose and address the barriers separating you from him. If you let them, detours will transform you.
When faced with bewildering change and dashed dreams, reflect on Joseph’s example. Recognizing God’s hand at work behind the scenes enabled Joseph to trust and obey at pivotal moments. Joseph fixes his hope not on instant gratification or relief, but on God’s faithfulness through generations of redemptive history. His flexible plans bow to God’s flawless vision of using detours to save the world.
In the middle of fear, anger, doubt, anxiety, and exhaustion, take heart. You do not control this detour, but the loving Lord who allowed it sees the whole picture. Will you lift your hands in surrender, refocus your mind, open your clenched fists, and allow God to redirect you? Will you trust that through unexpected twists and out-of-control events, he is weaving together a story full of meaning and purpose?
The pain of changing course is very real. But greater still is the hope that chooses to say, “Where you lead me, I will follow.” In that hope rests the power to impact people near and far, today and for eternity. Our lives can become bread for the world when we offer them fully to God.
May this season find you slowing down enough to let detours deepen your roots in the eternal. Listen to the voice of Jesus, take courage, and rise up to walk the unexpected path ahead. Joy and purpose await those who follow God’s lead, even on the unfamiliar roads. You never know how he will use your willingness and obedience to change other lives forever.