Detours can be frustrating and time consuming, especially when it feels as though we have swerved off of the main road. Yet in the spiritual life, God seems to allow us to be detoured. One of the longest detours of all time happened to the children of Israel in the wilderness. What should have taken them eleven days to enter the Promised Land turned into a forty-year detour in the desert, fraught with complaining and grumbling.
On the other hand, there were those who may have thought they were being detoured by God, but later discovered His perfect road of blessing all along.
Think about it:
* Moses was detoured into submission. Forty years in the wilderness tending sheep was not a waste. Instead, they were a training ground as Moses would shepherd the people, Israel. His desert experience took all the trust in his own strength away, replacing that trust in the Lord. (Exodus 3, 4)
* Paul was detoured into learning. “I went into Arabia…then after three years I went up to Jerusalem” (Galatians 1:17,18). Those years were beneficial for Paul, because he learned about Christ and was trained for service.
* Philip was detoured from evangelizing many to just one. He went from winning multitudes to winning one man, the Ethiopian eunuch. His experience showed how the Lord valued one soul.
* Enoch and Elijah were detoured from this earth right into heaven. (Genesis 5:24; II Kings 2:11)
Life is full of detours, perhaps you are experiencing one right now. or have just returned from one. What is your response to these detours in life? How would the Lord have you respond? Each one these interruptions is for your good. A detour may require more faith, but it brings a greater reward.
Lana is the Morning Star Chaplain and Intercessor. She is the founder of Philippian Ministries, an emotionally healing prayer ministry. Lana has served with Women of Faith and in several other ministries as a chaplain and has a heart to passionately follow the Lord.