Detour

Recently, we flew across North America to visit our son and his family, who had just received a precious baby girl. Children are very expensive, as we know, and this one necessitated a larger vehicle. With no space left in their present one, we set out in a two-car expedition to locate the proposed acquisition. There was a list of three dealerships which stocked their vehicle of choice, but they were so far-flung that it took most of the day, and company was expected at home at 4:00 p.m.

As we headed home, already late to meet the company, our son's car that we were following didn't take the expected route, but detoured into a nearby town. We wondered about whatever was going on. Finally we pulled into a fourth dealership. The explanation that we received was that during the course of the day, their preferences had changed, and they had decided to investigate a different brand of vehicle, which was available at a dealership on the way home.

As we drove out of that city, we mulled over the parallel to our usual experiences with the will of God as He directs events in our lives. As we had driven into that city, we had no idea what was going on in the vehicle ahead of us: the research that was taking place on the Internet using their smartphones. Likewise, we human beings, bound as we are by the limits of time and space, can have no idea what is going on in the mind of God. He is familiar with far more information about what is happening to us than we are, and what is more, He knows the future, when we cannot.

Fortunately, although we cannot second-guess God and we cannot understand what He is planning, we do have His assurance that He loves us and has our best interests at heart. His goal is for each of us to develop Christ-like character: loving, forgiving, and patiently persevering, with honesty, integrity, and faithfulness. However, it is difficult for us to accept the fact that such traits are often achievable only through hard suffering and situations that cause us to doubt that He loves us. That's where it is so necessary and important for us to trust implicitly His specific promises.

Isaiah 55:9 – As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (NIV)

Romans 8:28-29 – And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (NKJV)

Prayer: Lord God, we stand in awe at Your majesty, Your power, and Your omniscience! How wrong it is of us to presume that we are equipped to judge You for what you allow to happen to us. Forgive us for doubting Your love for us and Your desire to shape and mold us, so that our character resembles that of Christ. In His name, we pray. Amen.

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