I am going to admit it, and I hope this doesn’t dissuade your faith, but walking with Jesus is not easy. Every person needs to believe and receive Him. It is the pinnacle of the Bible and it determines your eternal fate. You need Jesus to get to heaven. He is the only way; read John 14:1-7, Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9-10, Matthew 7:21, Mark 16:16.
When you have Jesus, you begin a journey of faith that is fresh and exciting. You desire to know more and your willing to learn and mature until, God places a spiritual detour in your path. A spiritual detour is something that will cost YOU deeply. It is where your life takes a turn that you weren’t expecting.
Deep inside your heart where God’s Spirit is reshaping you, He is changing the patterns of your heart from carnal to spiritual. To accomplish this, He has to keep you on your toes! He has to take a left when your natural tendencies want to take a right. Your flesh is quite stubborn, as you learn when you study Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Deuteronomy 9:6 says, “You must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not. You are a stubborn people.” Thus, a short journey from Egypt to the Promise Land had to take detour after detour. God was delivering the Israelites from slavery in the world, aka Egypt, to a place where God would take care of them, aka the Promise Land.
You (and I) on this same journey. God calls you to out of your Egypt, aka this world, and leads you to His Son Jesus. As Jesus teaches you by His Word, you learn how to abide in the presence of God. It is quite exciting that God initiates a relationship with you and He does everything in His power to keep you on the path that leads to eternal life. He wants you (and I) to be a part of His redemption story when He puts Satan and sin in their proper place. There is no room for any type of rebellion or disobedience, thus God works tirelessly to save your soul.
There are many reasons for detours (our sins are many), but 3 reasons God allows you to go down unknown roads with Him is: 1. You learn to trust God and not yourself. 2. You learn of His faithfulness and continual presence. And 3. He has to get you out of you. The third one is the hardest to accept.
You are born with strengths and weaknesses. You are wired in a certain way. You have talents that make you you. All this is manifested in your upbringing. Who you are has been created by God. But this world is skewed. Its current state is sitting in opposition to God by the very one who created it! Thus, you (and I) are in opposition with God until Jesus is allowed to reign in your heart and change the trajectory of your life. While you have many great qualities about you that bring goodness and joy to others, you tend to take credit for what God is doing in your life. You focus on what you like to do, whether work or play.
God uses detours to redirect you.
God uses detours to lead you to new abilities that on your own, you would have never thought of. He often takes you down roads that you feel you aren’t wired for, but with God you are. When you are good at something, what happens? Others see YOU more than God. When you follow Jesus, others will see God in you way more clearly. God will receive all the credit and glory. He uses your obedience to draw others to Himself.
God is doing this with me. I am known to be creative and good at art. I like art. It began when I was a young girl. I would draw and I received much praise. When I went to college, I got a graphic design degree. It was fitting for me and I liked it. As I walked with God and matured in my faith, God led me to writing. I write blogs and I published a book. Never in a million years would have I picked such endeavors. I never saw myself as a writer, but God did. He prepared me for many years before I began such a journey. God uses writing to develop my God-confidence and to share Jesus and the Bible with others. I have been asked, “Carol, how do you keep coming up with your blog ideas?” I only have 1 answer: “The Holy Spirit leads me.” God receives all the credit and glory. If it wasn’t for God, I would have never been able to write a book or keep writing blogs.
So, what detour does God have you on and are you wondering what God is doing? I am here to tell you, let go of what YOU like or think YOU want to do and spend time in God’s presence along with His Word and let HIM show you. Be ready for a waiting time. God is never in a rush. I have to remind myself of this everyday. He is purposeful in everything He does. In the waiting, God is doing 2 things with you: 1. He is testing your faith. Will you continue to walk with Him even if you are not getting what YOU want? and 2. He is humbling you. Like I said before, God must get you out of you.
Take the time to read Deuteronomy. Moses reminds the Israelites of their journey in the wilderness and how God led them. He shares the secret to living for God in a faithful manner. Life goes well for God’s children who keep Him first in their life and walk in full obedience.
As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, don’t take the freedoms we have in this country for granted, and more importantly, do not take God for granted. Many Americans who believe are lukewarm, meaning, they love both God and this world. Read Revelation 3:14-22 about the church in Laodicea. This church represents too many churches in the United States. God rejects lukewarm faith.
Don’t be afraid of what God has for you to do, even if it means unknown detours. God is with you and He will make your efforts eternally fruitful. He is asking you to trust Him.
Carol J German 