There Are No Detours

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    There is nothing more frustrating than driving down a highway and seeing that orange sign, "Detour Ahead."   It totally throws off my sense of direction and takes time to get back onto the right road. And even with all those orange signs, I'm still afraid of getting lost.

Have you ever felt like you've had to take detour in your life? Like, say, spiritual detours? How about in your path following the call of God on your life?

     I've been really thinking very deeply about this subject lately. There have been a lot of people that have heard God's call: Abraham, Moses, Jeremiah to name just a few. They did great, hard things throughout their lives. God's call is as real to us today as it was to them: go and do.

     But what is really God's call? The very cliche brings up mainly one definition to our minds: the voice of God speaking to our hearts to do a specific thing with our lives. Its a deep unction from within that urges us to do what we otherwise would have not had a mind to do, such as missions, preaching, or teaching. 

     However, I would like to present a different idea of God's call today. Back last summer I blogged about how we so often live in the future and forget about the present. When we think about God's call we usually think about a specific thing. Don't get me wrong, God definitely calls people to very specific things! But what about your normal, everyday tasks that must be done? What about the "little ministries" that seem to have no bearing on what God has "really called you to do?" If God has called you to be a preacher/missionary/teacher, then why in the world am I ______? Fill in the blank. Life seems to be filled with these "detours."

When we feel like God has called us to do a certain thing with our lives, we often put that calling into our ministry compartment in our mind. Then, we shrink that box until the only thing that will fit in our "ministry box" is that one certain ministry we filled like we are called to do. We have no room for anything else so that if we are given an opportunity that may not be "what we are called to do," we either turn it down or treat it with lesser importance.

But what if God's call is not so limited to one certain thing? We think of life's journey as a Point A to Point B. But what about life in between? Are all those other things between A and B just detours to the real thing? No. They are the tasks God has placed on your path. This is the road He has chosen for YOU to walk; with God, there are no detours. They are all things God has placed on your path for a reason; He has something for you to do; some life to touch, some lesson to learn.Hebrews 12:1 says, "...Let us run with patience the race that is set before us." Its all part of the same race: your path, your journey, and the task He has placed in your hands today is just as important as that "great thing" that He has called you to do sometime in the future. And aren't they all great things? Would you pray and prepare any less for a nursing home devotion than you would for a Youth Rally message? Isn't this why Colossions 3:23 says, "Whatsoever ye do do it heartily..."?

There are no detours. The road may be rough where you are right now, but its the path God has laid before you. You may have to take a sudden turn, but He preparing the way before you. If God places a task before you, then He is calling you to do it. So, run with patience, and enjoy the journey.