“’For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” (Jeremiah 29:11 The Amplified Bible)
If you look at life from a godly perspective and through a God-conscious prism, every experience you have will inspire you. Consider the following example. See how it works.
Before Sunday School I had traveled to the other side of town to pick up one of our musicians who needed a ride and one of our faithful members. I had anticipated all the road construction that was going on and was familiar with lane closings and changes on my normal route. After picking up the two saints I mentioned, I head to church, back to my desired destination. I had my return course planned out perfectly. However, without warning, as I was about to take an interstate route to get to church before Sunday School, there was a big orange sign that said, “Road Closed.”
There was no advance warning before getting to that sign. How did I handle it? Determined to get to my destination, I took another route which was several miles off the direct, normal return path. I passed through the neighborhood where my family lived during tough times. I saw the church where I was saved at the age of eleven. I saw the renown and respected elementary school I attended. Now the path that I took, included a multi-mile stretch, the exact way I walked to high school from the eastside to the westside, unable to afford the public transportation. And yes, I walked through the snow and the rain, the heat and the cold. (I will leave out the part about walking backwards at times.)
There were several other personal landmarks I passed, all bringing back memories, some good and some not so good. But I quickly recognized that every block of this detour worked together for good because it helped me revisit and realize all that the Lord had brought me through. Some of the memories were about things where the road to success could have been blocked if I had given up or stay in lock step with my peers. But thank God that He kept me going and kept orchestrating my life, filling it with experiences that would help me know that the Lord will give us opportunity after opportunity, provide us with necessary detours to get to our goals, and more importantly, back to where He has planned for our destiny. Oh, I have learned that the Lord has plans for us, plans to prosper us, and not to harm us, and plans to give hope and a future. I have learned that when one road closes, take another road, specifically, take the detour God provides, to get to your destination or arrive at your destiny.
On my drive Sunday, I never considered giving up getting back to church. I never contemplated not getting to where I was heading. The same must be true for us as we travel through life. We will run into many closed roads, but we must not give up, trying to reach our destination, be it spiritual, educational, emotional, physical, economical, or reach relationship destinations connected to our primary family and personal friends.
We may have to take another road, but as you journey and you come to a closed road, think about how the Lord has always found a way for you before in your life, when the quickest route and the way you preferred halted by a “Road Closed” sign. Know It was certainly for your good. Thank God for having a plan for you! Think about your testimony of how the way to where you to go was blocked, and you ended up traveling down many paths and through multiple places and spaces, but through it all, the Lord was working on developing your faith fortitude and formulating a personal trait in you that would prepare you to always press on, always continue committed to the climb, whenever you faced an unexpected, closed road, on your journey through this land. Thank the Lord!
Be encouraged my friend, and never end your journey to where you desire to be, a place in alignment with God’s plans for you. Remember, when one road closes, keep going. He will show you new roads that will benefit you and in the long run, make you better. Trust in the Lord, my friend! Be blessed!
“Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.” (Jeremiah 42:3 NIV)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King