Today's Encouragemnt

When Life Gives You Detours 

DR. TONY EVANS

“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 (NASB)


Part of my role as pastor involves mentoring and counseling. I can honestly say I enjoy this aspect of being a pastor immensely. Not too long ago, one of the men from the church came to my home to meet with me. He had been going through a rough time.

As he sat in my family room, head hung low, he lifted his eyes to mine and said, “Pastor, I feel as if my detour has met another detour, and they got married and had a baby detour.”

In other words, he felt as if he were running into detour after detour after detour, and the detours merely kept replicating and multiplying rather than taking him anywhere meaningful.

It’s easy to feel that way when God is taking you to your destiny. This is because before you can ever get to where God wants you to be, He has to do some twists and turns. In life, as it is often on the road, detours exist because construction is taking place. When you’re on a highway and there’s a detour, it is usually because workers are trying to fix, build, correct or improve something.

Similarly, God will take us on a detour because He is constructing something in our lives as well. Granted, detours are anything but convenient. They take you out of the way. They take longer than you originally had planned to travel. But they are necessary.

God is more interested in your development than your arrival. He cares more for your character than your comfort, your purity than your productivity.

Keep in mind, development is not an event. Neither is it a one-size-fits-all experience.

Development takes time, tests, failure and overcoming. God knows each one of us individually. He knows what we each need in order to develop and strengthen our spiritual muscles and sharpen our spiritual insight and wisdom. More often than not, this requires detours in life to allow us the opportunity to learn, grow and develop.

We see this play out in Romans 5:3-5, which reads: “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

God has a destiny for you. He has a place for you and a purpose that He wants you to live out. But it may not happen tomorrow. You probably won’t get there by going in a straight line. Rarely does God take someone to the destiny He has for them without taking them on a detour … or two or 10 or even 100.

It is the one-in-a-million Christian who gets to go from point A to B to C and straight on to Z. Most often, God takes us from A to F to D to R to B to Q and so on. We never know which letter He’s pulling out next, either. That’s why patience is a preeminent virtue needed in order to reach our destiny.

Yes, I understand — detours can disappoint, momentarily. But when you allow them to produce hope, God promises that hope will not disappoint.