Going Around Detours

This past November I bought myself a GPS navigation system. A really nice gadget with a 4.3" display, it plays MP3s and picture slideshows. I can connect my phone via the Bluetooth technology and use it hands-free, and with a rather pleasant female voice providing turn-by-turn directions to and from places I do not know, I was eager to put it to the test.

The opportunity came in a drive from Toronto, Ontario to Livonia, Michigan. Personally, driving in Detroit is not my favorite thing to do (those "Michigan Lefts"!), but with the GPS leading the way, I didn't have any concerns; I expected it to work as advertised. Once I got across the Ambassador Bridge at the Detroit/Windsor border, sure enough "Suzy" gave me the next set of directions. What "she" didn't know was that that portion of the hiway was closed off and detour signs were posted for the alternate route. I followed the signs, and watched in amusement as the system reconfigured the directions to my destination with every turn. For as long as I was following the detour signs, I had to ignore "Suzy's" instructions. This continued until the detour ended, and once it did, now I had to rely on "Suzy" to take me the rest of the way. I have to admit that "she" was very impressive; clear instructions given well ahead of time, and at the right number, on the right street, the announcement, "You have reached your destination." How cool is that? My path was charted from start to finish, and despite all the detours, it still got me to where I needed to get to.

I learned something very important that day. God, in His Sovereignty, has charted the course of our lives from start to finish. For one reason or another, whether God decreed or God permitted, along this course we often run into detours - things doesn't go as expected, we get off track. Often times the spirit within us, amidst all our worries and concerns, tries to "reconfigure" our paths around the detours, yet like those detour signs, the Word of God points the way to get us back on track. As good as the GPS was, as long as the detour signs continued, I could not rely on it. Unfortunately, we sometimes fall in love with following our own inclinations despite the warning signs posted everywhere. The believer has to rely on the Holy Spirit during those times we have detoured, knowing fully well that at every step, He is working towards getting us back on track.

In Jeremiah 29:11, we read God saying "I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out" (Message Translation). The will of God may see us experiencing detours along the way. Relationships will not work out, jobs may be lost, children may rebel, and where success was expected, we experience nothing but failure. Amidst all of that, there's no need to panic, no need to fear. Our Heavenly Father can be trusted. He charted the course. He knows what He's doing. He has it all planned out.