When God Takes You On A Detour

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” – Jeremiah 29:11-14

One of most frequently used apps on my phone is my Maps app. I honestly don’t know how people found their way around before smart phones or GPS’s, especially directionally challenged people like me. Not to mention, the Maps app is great because it shows you the quickest way to go so that you can get to your destination more quickly.

I remember this once specific time my parents and I were driving to Knoxville, Tennessee to see one of my brother’s basketball games. As we were getting closer to downtown Knoxville, I looked at my phone and saw that there was a bunch of traffic up ahead. Thankfully there was an alternate route we could take that would wind us around the traffic and get us to see my brother on time.

At first, when we turned off the interstate, it seemed like we were going out of the way, winding through backroads and side streets. I’m pretty sure there was even one point when my dad, who was driving, asked, “Are you sure this is the way we need to be going?” But nevertheless, we ended up making it to our destination and were able to avoid the traffic and congestion at the same time.

Have you ever had this happen to you in your relationship with God? Have you been headed down one route, but then you hit a roadblock, and He ended up rerouting you and leading you a different way? Sometimes this change in direction makes sense because you felt stuck on the path you had been walking down previously. But other times, it seems like God is leading you to take a route that seems to lead in a completely different direction than where you want to go. You look like you’re going to go totally out of the way. 

But just like your phone always takes you to the right destination, God is faithful to take you to the destination that lines up best with His will for your life. Or as Proverbs 16:9 reminds us, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” 

This is also a lesson we can learn from the Israelites if we look at Scripture. God led the exiled Jews to stay in Babylon for an extended period of time rather than taking them immediately to Jerusalem like they planned. He rerouted His people on a bit of a detour. But this detour proved to be just one way for God to teach His people to trust Him, even when they didn’t understand His methods.

You see, God has a way of using detours with our best in mind. He knows the exact path we need to take in order for us to learn what we need to learn, accomplish what we need to accomplish, and ultimately become more like His Son, Jesus. He did that with the Israelites. He’s done that for me. And He will do that for you as well.

So if you feel like you’re going the long way around, or even if you feel like you’re headed in a completely different direction than though planned to go, trust God’s path and continue to follow His lead. I can promise you, you’ll never regret taking one of His detours.