The government
in the Netherlands has this slogan: “From A to Better” to explain where there
are road constructions, so that we can find another route to travel to our
destinations. When we are on our journey and we find out that the road is cut off,
it can be called a “bummer”…we don’t like that. But here’s the thing; if they don’t
take the time to maintain the roads, we will run into much bigger problems such
as holes in the road and our cars or other means of transport won’t like that.
Not to mention the accidents it will cause. I’ve spent some time in Nigeria and
most of the roads are just sand. One day I was in a bus when it went through a
big hole. The bus was overturned to one side as we were stuck in that hole. We
all had to carefully get out of the bus so that some men could push the bus
backwards out of the hole so that we could continue the journey. This we can
call a “bummer” too!
In our day
to day lives, as we are working to accomplish our dreams, sometimes you find
out that the road you are on is cut off. You were getting closer to a intermediate
part of your destination, and suddenly you realize that the road is not
accessible! This just recently happen to me. I was very close to a huge
breakthrough, and suddenly…I was not. This was not the suddenly I felt in my
spirit coming up, nor what the people of God were talking about when they were
talking about sudden breakthroughs coming. Do you know how easy it is to get
angry and frustrated, yell at the road workers there and spend the next hours
complaining about this huge iniquity? Very easy to do so, and a couple of years
back, this most likely would have been my first response. Fortunately I’ve
learned that sometimes it’s an roadblock the devil placed to get you to turn
around and give up. In my case it most likely has been this kind of attack, but
when you can discern the situation, it has prevented me from driving into a
very bad road further along the journey. God allowed the cutting off because He
noticed the holes which have arisen.
Where does
that leave me?
This can be
very discouraging and what if it means that this detour will take up a lot of
time that will feel like wasted? I don’t believe in that. I remember years ago
when Don Moen was in our country and I went to the evening of worship, he
shared with us an example of a navigation system. It gives you the direct turns
to take for you to arrive at the destination you gave it. Every now and then
you find that the road is inaccessible
or you might have taken a wrong turn somewhere. When this happens, the devise
asks you for a moment to recalculate the route to the original destination you
gave it. When he has it, it will start to tell you which way to go again. What touched
me the most, was when he said to notice that this “new” route is not viewed as
a route “B” or “C”. No, it might have been a different way then he originally displayed,
but this next one is still viewed as a route “A”.
With God,
it is the same. If there is a road that does not fit in your means of travel or
you might have missed the turn somewhere, it does not mean that the journey
stopped and you start over again. Your destination has not changed, just the
way to get there changed…it became Better!
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made
it on my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining
forward to what lies ahead.” Philippians 3:13
If you find
yourself in a similar situation, I want to encourage you not to get mad or
frustrated. Don’t let it discourage you. It might hurt for a while to accept
this new reality, but trust me when I say that it is not over yet! Keep going
after the things that God has placed into your heart, it is worth any detour it
takes to get there! And by the grace of God…you WILL get there!
Amen!
