Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out. Isaiah 48:21

Highly motivated successful individuals set goals for themselves and go for it! They are so driven by their desire to reach the top that anything that stands in their way becomes a formidable barrier or enemy! No one gets to the top of Mt. Everest without facing the challenge of weather, tired muscles, insufficient oxygen and tremendous fatigue.

And in reaching our goals—whether it is in athletics, sales for your company, or where you want to be by age 40—we invite God’s blessing. Why not ask Him to give you the extra push that will put you ahead of the next guy in line?

After all, we get the message, “God has a plan for your life,” never considering the slightest possibility that God’s plan might be different from our plan. “Why shouldn’t He want me to succeed?” we ask ourselves. Besides the “If it’s good, it has to be God” mentality is widely marketed today—in churches, in popular Christian self-help books. It makes sense—at least to our old natures.

Then—and here’s where the challenge comes—we hit the large DETOUR sign. On the highway, it’s out there in bold yellow and black, or a blinking yellow sign, or the somber confrontation with your doctor where he says, “You have cancer.” Your accountant says, “If you believe in miracles, you had better ask for one now because your business is toast unless something miraculous happens.”

Boom, just like that your world falls apart. The detour is not the path we want to take! “How could the detour be the path?” our hearts cry out, thinking surely a loving God could not have allowed this to happen. It has to be the devil who is hindering me.

Frankly, I’ve never been one for handling detours very well—singing as I go, smiling and rejoicing when the path I want to take is barricaded—so I can speak with a measure of understanding in this regard. I’ve been there, looking at the detour sign, wondering if I couldn’t get around the sign and push ahead.

There are three choices when we face the detour sign. The first is rebellion, refuse to accept the somber warning and push ahead. Most of the time, you can put your car in low gear, get up some speed and crash through a detour sign. If, however, the bridge is out up ahead, or there is a danger of which you are unaware, to push through the detour sign would be the height of stupidity and foolishness.

There’s another choice that confronts you—passive resignation, something “Type A” personalities such as I don’t handle very well. We may take the detour and avoid the disaster, but we gripe and complain, our joy dissipates, and our annoyance increases in proportion to the discomfort. Wrong attitude. Paul wrote, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (Thessalonians 5:18). Even when there are detours? Yes, no exception. In times of difficulty you will learn that praise is the only shortcut to victory.

There’s another choice: rest in the Lord and understand, as George Muller put it, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and so are the stops!” That was David’s choice. After he was anointed to be king, he spent seven long years living as a fugitive. Many of the Psalms written during those years speak of God as his refuge, his strength, and his help. The issue is not whether you will face detours in your life but how you handle them. Wise is the person who learns and accepts the fact that the detour is the path!

Resource reading: Acts 16:11-40.