Change! It’s unwanted when unexpected, and embraced when desired. Change is as fickle as an Elementary school sweetheart! One day for you, and the next day against you!
Very few people embrace unexpected change. People mostly like what they can anticipate. They like to know what’s up ahead. Being able to anticipate what’s up around the bend
brings security. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always afford the luxury of a heads-up.
Change can come like an unexpected detour. Taking a person through unfamiliar territory on the road to their destination. When a detour is posted, it usually signifies something is under construction; being built, removed, or repaired. In life, change often signifies the same thing, only we are under construction. There are times when a detour can be blanketed with those orange signs directing every turn, and then there are those one-sign routes, leaving the driver unsure of their next turn.
Abraham received the one-sign detour. Not a lot of details about the trip, or the final destination. His journey was spent seeking God’s desire, and listening to His directions.
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Heb 11:8
In Abraham’s life God was reconstructing something. He was removing him from his old life, and building a new nation through him. God was using a detour in his life to restore a relationship between God and mankind. Abraham didn’t have the luxury of orange signs at every turn. There were days he’d cry out to God and heard nothing, and other days he’d make a turn and it’d be the wrong one. However, over time, in spite of the silence of God’s voice, or the mistakes Abraham made, God built a friendship between the two of them. The Bible says that even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping–believing, and God recognized him with un-waivering faith.
When life brings a detour, chances are God is working in our lives just as He was in Abraham’s life. He’s strengthening His relationship with us through the new route. When God allows a detour, He reinforces our prayer life, and increases our faith, and restores our hope and belief. Whether the road is clearly marked or just a one-sign wonder, we can be confident that God is there.
I encourage you to ask God what is under construction in your life. Ask Him if He is:
- Building something new?
- Removing debris?
- Bringing restoration?
Understanding that change truly has a purpose will bring peace and rest, which increases our trust in the Lord. It gives us a hope to hold onto so we, too, can be have faith like Abraham that even when there is no reason for hope, we keep hoping and believing until we make it through the detour!
The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. Prov. 16:9