Detours

The thing about detours is that they are inconvenient, unwelcome, time-consuming, and surprising. You may take a longer route, but eventually you still get where you are going.

This season is a detour in my life-in my destiny. I had so many other plans, but I’m here, in Mansfield, now. I could choose to have an attitude of discontentment, of anger, and of frustration, or I can choose to be content where I am and look for joy in the apparent chaos.

There is no person in the Scripture who illustrates the principles of detours in relationship to destiny than Joseph. His life reads like a good suspense novel. It has twists and turns along the way-not all of them planned. We read, “But Joseph said to them,’Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (Gen. 50:19-20)

Detours often contain evil. They may contain bad people. We suffer under the evil of people acting badly or our own bad choices producing bitterness, cynicism, hate, and stunted growth. It is only when we consider the whole phrase-“you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good”-that we are able to reach our destiny through the detours. God doesn’t orchestrate hoops that we have to jump through, but He often turns the messiness in our lives into a message for ourselves and others.

God knew Joseph’s brothers would sell him into slavery. He knew Joseph would get bought by Potifar and get tempted by his wife. God knew Joseph would get thrown into prison. The only thing Joseph had any control over was his attitude.

He continued to praise God, even when life, by anyone’s standards, was dire. He was in prison with very minimal hope of getting out.

In every detour, we have a choice. We can choose to be angry at God, upset with our circumstances and disappointed because things are not going your way. Or we can choose to welcome the moments, look for God working in the midst of the chaos, and see God’s glory. God can take your bad experiences and turn them into tools to bring Him glory.

I don’t know what the future hold, but I have to trust that God is good and His plan for me is ultimately good.