Parsha Beshalach – Life’s Detours

WHAT DOES A DETOUR LOOK LIKE?

God has a purpose for your life. But it may not happen overnight. You probably won’t get there by going in a straight line. Diversions are a part of God’s plan. He rarely takes us from point A to point B without a stop along the way. The journey is not one straight, smooth road after another; its full of peaks and valleys, crossroads, roadblocks and curves.

Sometimes life takes a detour.

We think we have a plan in place and are moving in one direction, only to run into an obstacle that diverts our journey. Perhaps all seems to be going smoothly until you suddenly encounter a bump on the way. This bump forces you to divert onto unfamiliar paths. The bump may be an illness, a job loss, family issue, or other life-altering event. When you are on a detour it is difficult to see any good coming from the situation. Detours are often rough, uncertain. inconvenient, longer, time consuming, uncomfortable, and sometimes painful. A detour is a route that is different from the ordinary; it is often used when the direct route cannot be accessed. Bent roads keep us from our original route. They are signs letting you know the road ahead is no longer available or it is dangerous. A detour is a divine interruption intended to take you to a better path. It is a distraction from the intended path. Detours are things that take us from the route that we had determined to use to get to where we had hoped to go. They are deviation from a set course or goal. A detour is used when a construction is going on.
Are you experiencing a Divine Detour?
You may be forced to take a detour when God is doing some repair work in your life. He puts you on an alternate road because He intends on refining us and preparing us for our place of promise. There is a season of preparation and a season of celebration. Preparation matures, shapes and molds you into who God has called you to be. You had to go through a test so you would be prepared for the next testimony. Your preparation is your pruning season. It is the season where God shapes your character in the desert in order to prepare you for a greater purpose.