If you haven’t had a chance to read Part 1 of “When Your Detour Becomes Your Destiny,” please take a couple of minutes and do so before reading Part 2.
Detours are never easy and rarely fun, but everyone encounters them at one time, or another. As I began to reflect on detours, there were some things that stood out to me, and I wanted to share a little more detail on each of these.
- Detours are typically not as nice as the road you were on.
- Detours usually take longer to get to your destination.
- Detours are not your choice. Someone else chose it for you.
- Detours provide unique opportunities.
Detours are typically not as nice as the road you were on.
I’ve never been on any detour that was as nice as the main road, and let’s be honest, we all want nice — nice family, nice friends, nice jobs, nice things — nice and comfortable. Detours can be rough, winding, and not nearly as nice or comfortable, and being comfortable seems to be high on each of our lists.
Unfortunately, growth seldom takes place in comfort zones. God never promised us a life in a comfort zone. He never said that everyday would be sunshine and roses. His desire is that we grow and mature to fulfill all the potential that He has placed within us. God is more interested in your character, than your comfort. He wants to transform us, and sometimes that means taking a detour and going through an uncomfortable season.
The God of the interstate is the same God of the detour. He never changes. Circumstances do not determine God’s abilities. He’s not worried that you’re on an off-road experience. Whether you’re in a comfortable season, or an uncomfortable detour, God remains the same. (Hebrews 13:8)
Detours usually take longer to get to your destination.
Detours are always much easier to handle if they are of short duration, yet most detours take longer to reach our destination. When given the option on our GPS, most of us will always choose the fastest route. Even if it’s a longer distance, we choose fastest, and most detours are not the fastest.
Time, or lack thereof, seems to be an issue with most people today. There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to complete our lists. We prepare our notes, our to-do lists, our goals, and still it is difficult to work everything in. We certainly don’t prepare, or predict, our detours, so what happens when we suddenly find ourselves on a road that was not expected?
Impatience, frustration, and anger kick in, and more often than not, we release our emotions on those around us. Those who are closest to us usually bear the brunt of our emotions. Our detours can always be handled much easier when we determine to wait patiently on the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)
God’s timing is amazing, and is always best.
Keep calm and let God carry on.
Detours are not your choice. Someone else chose it for you.
Most of us love to be in control, and we lose control in detours. It is most difficult to enjoy life when our lives seem to be spinning out of control.
Who, in their right mind, would choose a detour instead of a super highway? Detours are not typically placed on our list of goals. I’ve never seen detours placed on someone’s vision board. It’s just not going to be our choice if we have an option.
When traveling in an automobile and we are forced to take a detour, oftentimes it is because there is something dangerous, or something that we need to avoid, farther up the road. We may not be able to see it at the point of our detour, but it is usually for our own good.
Believe it or not, God has a plan for your life. Our detours in life, are often for our own good. We do not have the ability to see very far down the road of life. Minute-to-minute is about all we have the ability to see, but God sees, and He knows. Trust God and the choices He makes for you. You are His creation, and He really cares for you.
Detours provide unique opportunities.
Detours can be devastating or innovating.
In an automobile, detours force us to see and experience things that we would not have, except for the detour.
The same is true of life’s detours. We are forced to see and experience things, that perhaps we would have missed. God, often uses detours as teachable moments for us, to cause us to become more like Him. We are destination oriented, while God is process oriented.
Stay pliable in the process. Don’t focus so long on the closed door, that you miss the open window.
When you find that your detour has become your destiny, seize the unique opportunities that God has placed around you. Perhaps, you were designed for this moment. Perhaps, you have been preparing all your life for this day. Don’t let the disappointments of a detour distract you from a destiny that God has planned for you.
The detours in your path, have not changed the details of God’s plan for your life. (Jeremiah 29:11)
While detours are inevitable, detours can be invaluable. Don’t allow “where” you are to keep you from becoming “who” you are destined to become.
Still Believing!
