Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Detours in Life

                This coming weekend is our church's big, 125th Anniversary celebration. We have been planning for this event for almost a year. Yesterday, the city blocked off Balcerzak Rd., the main way of getting to our church. It is possible that it could be reopened by this weekend, but I doubt it.

                Life is full of roadblocks and detours. Just about the time you begin to make some significant forward progress, something happens to slow you down and force you to change course. Several years ago, I was driving with my parents around Chicago. My Dad was following me in their van, so we decided to leave the freeway and take a secondary road, hoping to face less traffic. We were wrong. The traffic was pretty much bumper to bumper and every time we were able to get up to the posted speed, we hit a red light. It was a very frustrating couple of hours.

                Satan loves to throw roadblocks and detours in our way. He often uses the roadblocks of frustration, anxiety, disappointment, and fear to slow us down and get us off course. He wants us to get our eyes off of Christ and onto our circumstances. How we respond to these obstacles can either stop us in our tracks or become an opportunity to grow in our faith. God can use these to draw us closer to Himself. When we are faced by some unexpected roadblock, we can find relief by taking it to Christ. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philip. 4:6-7

                But not all of the roadblocks and detours in our lives come from Satan. Sometimes God is the source of these course corrections in our lives. At the time, it might be hard for us to recognize God’s hand in our circumstances, but when we look back, we can see it clearly. The Apostle Paul gives us two prime examples of God’s roadblocks and detours.

                God placed a physical roadblock in Paul’s life to help smooth off some of his rough edges. It is recorded for us in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.  To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

                Paul’s first response to this roadblock was exactly like ours. He assumed that this was a bad thing and prayed that God would quickly remove it from his life. But God had another plan. God wanted to use this roadblock to refine Paul. Paul was a highly driven man. Once he got the bit between his teeth, there was no stopping him. So God placed a significant roadblock in his way. Paul needed to recognize that he had begun to depend more on himself than on God.  Once Paul saw his situation from God’s perspective, he was able to embrace the lesson and move forward. It is important to note that God did not remove the roadblock, but left it in place as a constant reminder of Paul’s dependence on God.

                The second incident was more of a detour than a roadblock. This detour is outlined in Acts 16:6-10. Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

                God had a reason for putting a detour sign in Paul’s life. Paul was having a significant impact on the towns and villages of Asia Minor. His success was actually limiting what God wanted to do with Paul. So the Holy Spirit stepped in and closed doors, which had previously been wide open. I’m sure that at first, Paul was frustrated and confused. Why was God keeping him from continuing his fruitful ministry? The reason was that God had something better for him. Because of God’s detour, an entire new field of ministry was opened.

                I have faced my share of roadblocks and detours. My journey into pastoral ministry would have never happened, if God had not thrown a few roadblocks and detours in my way. At the time, I was confused and often frustrated. I did my best to work around them, but often that only led me to another detour, until God had me on the path He wanted me to be on.

                What are the roadblocks and detours God has placed in your life? How has God used them to direct you into His path?

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.


    

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