A month ago, I was driving to an appointment 25 miles away and about eight miles out I started seeing signs and came to a stop to wait for a pilot car, delaying my arrival by 10-15 minutes. I was a bit dismayed, as I was late to my visit, and something that I now needed to account for the next time I traveled that way. It can be more frustrating when you are driving along and see a sign that the road ahead is closed and you have to go another route, often many miles longer than you had planned. If you are familiar with the area, sometimes you can find a shorter route via gravel roads, but if you are not a local, you just take the suggested route. We have the capability to check online sites and maps to let us know of any detours or construction delays and can adjust our time or find an alternate route. Last Summer, I was meeting some friends for an event about 100 miles away up near Cedar Rapids and I got a message from one friend who was stopped on Interstate 80 due to an accident. I got his message about 20 minutes before I got to my planned entrance, so I checked and adjusted my route to get on just after the accident site, and arrived without much delay, while he was waiting for over an hour to get moving again. What is your response, when you encounter delays and detours to your plans in life?
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
As we go through our days, it seems they rarely go according to plan. You get a call and have to deal with an unexpected issue, messes get made and you have to clean them up, things break down and have to be repaired, you or someone else is sick and you have to cancel some plans, etc. There are a lot of curve balls we can encounter each day, and almost expect at times. We don’t have a lot of response options, as we could get upset or angry when it happens, which is a normal response, but that doesn’t usually help resolve the issue. We can wait and deal with it later, or we can just move forward with the best option we have at the time. Except on seemingly bad days, this doesn’t happen all the time and even big issues can eventually work out as well. I’m always thankful when things get resolved without too much work. Our response to challenges in life can reveal our true character and even help us become better people.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4
When a situation becomes too difficult to resolve on our own, or when we run out of solutions to the problem, we often have to turn to someone else for help. Hopefully we all know people who are smarter than us in a variety of areas, and whether they offer advice professionally or personally, can help us out when in a pickle. I am grateful for these folks when I reach the limits of my knowledge or patience in trying to fix things. A mechanic, a doctor, a lawyer, an advisor have all been helpful to me at different times this past month. But there is also Someone who knows more than even these experts, and He has the ability to guide us through seemingly impossible situations. My first response when I encounter a road bump of some sort is not always to turn to God, but when I do, even if I don’t have an immediate solution, He gives me a peace which transcends the situation. He gives me hope that we can get through any challenge in life or death when our hope is in Him. May that be your first response when you encounter your first delay or detour today!
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
Yours in Christ,
Clark
