Detoured on My Way Hwy

 

The thought of God’s will paving through our daily circumstances and encounters is pleasant and lifting most of the time. That is until His plan detours our own. One day we are pleased with our route and without warning God allows or produces a hearty interruption in our journey. Wheels screech to a halt, the road is closed before us and we are suddenly redirected. Our trip down “My Way Hwy” is stalled and we are forced to reconsider our position and destination before again moving forward.

Priscilla Shirer shares in her study titled          Life Interrupted  that these interruptions are God’s intimate ways of bringing about His best in our life. Of course we understand the concept of biblical principles at work in our circumstances. Still these interruptions can often feel like accidents or traffic traumas which leave us in shock in the middle of the road. So what are we to do when life is interrupted and we are given a map through unfamiliar, uncomfortable or even frightful territory?

First we seek the LORD in prayer. Nothing we experience gets around God’s sovereignty. Therefore it is imperative that we cry out to our Heavenly Father for insight and discernment in our circumstance. He has either allowed the interruption or orchestrated it to bring about His will in our life. Second we will come through the interruption well when we yield to God’s map. As the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:12-13 shares that he had to learn to be content in every circumstance through the power of Christ, we also should strive to be content before, during and after interruptions. Third we must trust the purpose of God for the interruption. Our Heavenly Father desires more than we can comprehend to bring us to a spiritual wholeness. Everything spoken to us through His Word and by His Holy Spirit is meant to teach us of His ways and encourage us through His hands on the wheel process of sanctification. God’s goal is good and while His path is narrow it is the only road which leads to Home. Finally we should hold onto the hope that each challenging interruption has potential to lead us to more than we could ever imagine. As we submit to God’s plan for our life and humbly journey through our days with the LORD, blessings will be ours in great measure; peace, joy, rest, contentment and purpose shaken, pressed down even overflowing.

The choice is ours. We do not have to let Jesus navigate. Yet, through my own experience of gripping the wheel and charting my course I have learned spiritual summits are never reached via smooth roads. They are usually experienced through life interruptions which send us off road and through bumpier terrain.     

For example when I was fifteen my mother lost her battle with cancer. Just two weeks before her fortieth birthday she had to say good-bye to four daughters and her first grandchild still in the womb. Cancer interrupted all our lives and forced us to travel a road of despair. After my mother’s passing, my life continued to be rerouted by interruptions. Unfortunately, what was meant to navigate me into the arms of divine comfort left me embittered and broken down on the road. I rejected the invitation to follow Christ’s route to salvation and instead bought a ticket on a fast train in the opposite direction.

Like Jonah I wanted nothing to do with God’s plan. His interruptions and map thus far had only produced heartache and sorrow according to my GPS. Little did I know that act of rebellion would lead me into treacherous territory, like Jonah’s raging sea. I too would narrowly escape with my life. In a moment of desperation and spiritual bleakness Jesus extended grace; offering once again to be my guide. I wholeheartedly embraced His interruption with relief and gratitude (For I was very tired of navigating life on my own).

I pray you will seek the LORD’s direction when your journey is interrupted with detours and closed roads. Though your ultimate destination is not meant to be reached in this world, Jesus promises following His course will bless you with the BEST ride of your life!  

Tracy L. Frazier

Director/Founder of The FOLD: Fellowship Opportunity for Ladies Discipleship

 

Video: Priscilla Shirer – Life Interrupted

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z__D_dr5Ivc

 

Music Video: Carrie Underwood – Jesus Take the Wheel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lydBPm2KRaU

Scripture: Jonah 1:1-3; The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai:  “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”  But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish.  He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying for the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.