The detours we experience are sudden changes in direction, route, or plans that are outside our control. A detour is a deviation from our original plan, and it is inconvenient because, contrary to our plans for the shortest, fastest route possible, detours create delays.
The dictionary defines a detour this way: to turn aside; a roundabout way, a deviation from a direct way; a route used when the direct or regular route is closed; a circuitous way.
Anxiety, impatience, frustration, disappointment, and even confusion emerge when confronted with a detour in life. Unable to progress toward our goals, we may feel that we are wasting time, no longer in control, and unsure of the future.
To gain a positive perspective on detours, we need to look back through the lens of faith. Hindsight often gives us a better understanding of how God was present all along.
The following are six possible reasons why God orchestrates detours in our lives.
1. The bridge or road we are about to cross is unsafe. God reroutes us to protect us when the road ahead is unsafe and too dangerous to proceed.
On August 1, 2007, the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge was an eight-lane, steel truss arched bridge carrying Interstate 35W traffic across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It collapsed during the evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145. Many families would have welcomed a sign: “Detour—Bridge unsafe.”
Our God does not always tell us that the road ahead is unsafe. Instead, he graciously puts up the roadblock (detour) and asks us to trust him without explanation. I am convinced that many of the detours we experience will one day make perfect sense and produce a humble response of gratitude. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
2. God wants us to see and experience a life scenic view we would not have seen or chosen by our initiative. When living life on a 70-mph freeway, we barely have time to turn our heads and look at the countryside. Our focus is on just getting there—wherever that is. And once we get there, we get on the next interstate and do it all over again. We observe little and learn even less.
Jesus took his disciples on a detour in John 4 when traveling from Jerusalem to Galilee. The cultural freeway was via the Jordan River Interstate. The Samaria route was slow, dangerous, and politically incorrect. But John said that “Jesus had to go through Samaria” (John 4:4). After reading the rest of the story, we know he took this off-road route to encounter an outcast lady in an out-of-the-way city, giving his disciples (then and now) a countercultural view of a woman, a town, and a harvest away from the freeway.
Detours cause us to slow down and look around. When we overcome our impatience, detours can open vistas we would have never seen from the freeway. We may meet people who are lost, in pain, and lonely, or we may discover the hand of God in the beauty of nature’s simplicity, or perhaps we experience the kindness of a friend who showed up unexpectedly and unannounced (John 4:39-42).
3. We are headed in the right direction but are not yet ready to reach our destination. We need more time to mature to handle and appreciate what lies ahead. Or perhaps the detour is for the sake of others as they are not yet ready for our presence or contribution.
Moses experienced a 40-year detour in the desert after killing the Egyptian. It took those 40 years for the people of Israel to learn to cry out for God’s help and meanwhile, Moses was learning how to live in the desert and listen to God.
Paul was another leader who experienced detours. After his conversion, he immediately began to proclaim the gospel of Jesus in Damascus. His preaching resulted in a death threat that prompted the believers to sneak Paul out of town. The details are sketchy, but Paul spent the following three years in the desert of Arabia. He then went to Jerusalem, where he was cautiously introduced to the other apostles. Once again, his boldness in proclaiming the Gospel got him into physical danger. This time, however, the disciples sent him off to Tarsus (his hometown), where he stayed for another 14 years in obscurity. Eventually, Barnabas gets Paul from Tarsus and brings him to Antioch, where there is a great moving of the Spirit of God. Hardly the straight-line road Paul had envisioned in those early days in Damascus.
There are several other possible reasons why Paul had a 14-year detour from sharing Christ with the world. It could have been for his development and maturity. It could have also been for the development of the church under Peter’s influence in Acts 10-11. What is clear is that Paul was eager to engage in his calling, but God put him on a circuitous path for several years.
Detours can cause us to slow down and wait for God’s timing. God’s clock doesn’t seem to run as fast as ours. I think that is why one of the most repeated phrases in the Psalms is “wait on the Lord.” In Isaiah 40:28-31, the prophet emphasized the benefits of doing so!
4. We are not headed in the right direction. Sometimes God allows us to move in the wrong direction before redirecting us. Remember, it is easier to direct a moving car than a stalled one. In like manner, rather than becoming paralyzed with over-analysis and fear of making mistakes, we need to start moving. However, we also want to avoid a stubborn, focused attitude that keeps us from accepting God’s course correction.
An example is in Acts when Paul sought direction on his second missionary journey. Luke tells us that Paul tried to enter western Asia, but “the Lord prevented him” (Acts 16:6). Having hit the detour, Paul waited and adjusted as the Holy Spirit opened new doors into Greece. Paul was a man in motion but allowed God to open and close doors.
5. God wants to develop our trust and faith in his goodness. He knows that there will be times when it will be crucial for us to respond and obey quickly to his leadership. Detours are part of that development process. Much of my early military training taught me to follow commands quickly and completely. Military leaders know that in combat, that ability will save lives. Faith in Christ puts us under new leadership…his. He is now the authority we need to obey quickly.
God used a cloud to lead Israel in their initial journey in the desert. When it moved, they moved. When it stopped, they stopped. They stayed put if the cloud rested for a day, a week, or even a month. There is no hint in Scripture that God gave them an explanation of why it stopped or started. Following the cloud was training for trusting God in the future.
Under the new covenant, we are given the Holy Spirit as our “cloud.” Paul says in Romans 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Learning to recognize and respond to the voice of God is part of our spiritual development. Detours are one of the ways God teaches us to follow (John 14:26).
6. Our sin has altered our path. Sin always has consequences, even after forgiveness. These consequences appear as roadblocks, altering our course and creating a detour. Sin may even eliminate the original destination, so it is no longer an option.
For example, when the children of Israel had the opportunity to enter the Promised Land, they refused, even though the spies reported the inhabitants were afraid of the Israelites. Because of their disobedience, God put the Israelites on a 40-year detour and only the next generation was permitted to enter the Promised Land.
Through divinely appointed detours, we discover God is our faithful Guide. We also can learn to:
- Persevere, keep going, not quit or retreat.
- Wait on the Lord, not doubting his promises but following the direction clearly given by God, even when the path looks dark and forbidding.
- Enjoy the new scenery, trusting that God has a purpose for the detour, even if we don’t understand it.
Remember God’s promise to the Hebrews in the Old Testament when considering the detours in your spiritual journey. Their sin resulted in captivity, but even then, God’s gracious promise was to give them a future and hope (Jeremiah 29:11).
For Reflection:
- Can you recall a detour in your life that changed your plans? How did you respond? Looking back, how did God show up?
- Can you think of other reasons God might create detours in your path?
- What are other biblical examples of detours? How did God show up?