You had it all planned out perfectly from when you were a young teen.
Where you would live, what you would do, who you would be.
The moment you stepped off the podium of your college graduation you were ready to face the real world.
To accomplish your dreams.
To travel the world.
To start a family.
To go above and beyond everything you had hoped for.
But you set out for your dream job and ended up on the bottom of the ladder pushing papers wondering what on earth you got your degree for.
You expected to find your true love but every day you come home to an empty house wondering if you will always be alone.
Or you married your soul mate and now it’s ten year later and after treatments, and trying, and listening to the advice of everyone around you your hope starts to disappear and you wonder if you will ever have more than just each other but a baby to hold.
Or a tragedy came into your life and now you have no energy and no time to think about what you want to do, all you focus on is how you’ll make it through to tomorrow.
Life is both beautiful and tragic at times.
We live by our dreams, by our planners, and by our prayers but often times the reality we live in is far from what we wish it would be.
Those plans we had when we were sixteen had long fallen apart by the time you were twenty and you are constantly re-writing the script of your life in your mind and planning for Plan B.
It seems like every time you set foot in the direction you want to go God places a huge “detour” sign right in front of your face and on another route you have no choice but to go.
A route that is windy and dark and confusing at times.
And you wonder how and why in the world you got there and when you would finally make it out.
Detours are no fun, but like anything in life there is a reason we must take them.
We want everything to happen now.
To become the leader, the employee, the expert in our field that we always wanted to be.
To start off a ministry, a career, or a family the minute that we can.
To finally fulfill all of those desires, ambitions, and dreams.
And at the moment we want it most God will quietly take us aside, make us sit at His feet, and say “not here, not yet, not now”.
Just like He did with Abraham, and Joseph, and Moses.
Abraham wanted to hold that baby boy in his arms that would be the first of many generations but God said “not yet son, one day you will be the father of many nations, but today is still not the right time.”
Joseph wanted to be the leader he dreamed about since he was a young boy and God said “not yet son, one day you will be second in command to the most powerful man in the nation, but that time is still yet to come.”
Moses wanted to help the Israelites when he saw them suffering as a young man but God said “not yet son, one day you’ll help free all of them, but that time is not now.”
One after another he put their dreams and plans on hold.
Joseph’s holding place was in a prison cell, Moses’s was in a desert, and Abraham’s was in a country that wasn’t his own.
And He does the same with us.
He puts up the detour sign and takes us on another road.
One we never planned on taking.
One that we never prepared for.
And it is usually during the detours in our life that we lose hope.
Hope for the future we were so excited for.
Hope for fulfilling those dreams we’ve been waiting all of our life for.
Hope for an ending where we don’t end up alone.
And we start forgetting that detours don’t mean we won’t always get where we want to go, sometimes they just mean we’ll get there at a different time by taking a different road.
I love what Holley Gerth says about it,
“A delay doesn’t mean you’ve taken a detour. It doesn’t mean a closed door. It simply can mean that our ways are not like God’s”
Delays are not there to crush our dreams but to allow us to grow more before we have what it takes to fulfill them.
They are not there to discourage us from our hopes but to make us depend on God and develop our faith in times of unknown.
Abraham, Joseph, and Moses came out stronger, humbler, and with more faith because of their detours.
They were tested and tried and fine tuned by God on His potter’s wheel before He set them back on that road to fulfill their dream and He does exactly the same for you too.
Today if you are facing a closed door, a detour, or a roadblock don’t be discouraged.
It’s only there to protect you from taking a road you are not yet prepared to travel.
Keep walking faithfully with Christ and remember that just because you believe you are ready for a change, for a relationship, or for a new opportunity or season doesn’t mean that God thinks so too.
He knows best when it’s time for you to end a chapter in your life and when it’s time to stay in the one you are in.
If something you are praying or hoping for isn’t happening yet trust that when the right time comes it will, just like it did for Abraham, for Moses, and for Joseph.
Keep trusting God during all seasons in your life, including the ones with the detours. If you need more encouragement check out one of my friend’s posts on detours here. Be blessed –Anna…♥
“Don’t mistake God’s patience for His absence. His timing is perfect, and His presence is constant. He’s always with you.” -Deuteronomy 31:6
“Keep walking faithfully with Christ and remember that just because you believe you are ready for a change, for a relationship, or for a new opportunity or season doesn’t mean that God thinks so too.” This was what I needed to hear today. Thank you, Anna.
I’m glad that it was Scott. 🙂 Have a blessed day!
Reblogged this on carmen and commented:
🙂 being patient
Such a great point. I think this also shows and helps us to remember that God always keeps His promises to us. We just need to be still and trust Him. Thanks for this post!
Thanks and amen! God is always faithful in keeping His promises as long as we are faithful in trusting Him!
Amen! ♥!!!
Lovely post! Thanks for the confirmation 🙂
I just read this beautiful post and it was a God thing. I just talked to my grandson in the Marines about his future beginning and mine, always full of hope and aspirations, is pretty much winding down. I found a note I wrote to my husband about 20 years ago where I wrote 3 goals for my life and while I have never given up on those 3 simple things, they have never happened. I don’t have a give-up type of personality. I don’t get discouraged easily, but I can see the end of the road up ahead and those goals still in a box. Believe me. I’ve read about Abraham, Moses, Joseph and many other Biblical saints. The best thing of all, I know that despite my failures here, my goal of living in heaven for all eternity is sure. That’s the main thing.
“Despite my failures here, my goal of living in heaven for all eternity is sure” – Love this Jane! We have our goals and aspirations and there is nothing wrong with them but it’s so important to remember that whether or not they come to pass or not in our lifetimes doesn’t matter in the big picture and by knowing Jesus we can at least be certain of the fact that our eternity is guaranteed and something we can always look forward to! That will always be the main thing. 🙂
Oh how I loved this. Perfect and just what I needed. ❤️
That’s great Joy! 🙂 hope you have a lovely weekend!
So glad this popped up on my feed…so much truth in this post! I’m in this crazy-scary-wonderful-frustrating-detour part of life, which is probably more scary and frustrating than wonderful. But it’s been such an opportunity for growth and strengthening, and I’m able to appreciate it more now than I did even just a few months back. I’m able to see more of the “why” part of it. I’m still a little tired of the waiting period, but He’s right there with me.
Yes He is there with you through all your detours in life! It’s so nice to finally see some of the answers to our “why’s” but we won’t even always get that for all of the things we go through in life and we must just hold on to our faith in Christ and the truth that there’s a purpose for everything, especially the waiting seasons in life.:)
Amazing…this was so encouraging, thank you for sharing.
Thanks Becca! Be blessed! ♥
Thanks for blessing us with you blog!
Praise God!! This is so encouraging to me right now, Anna! I’m in one of those detour seasons. I am finding myself being instructed to take a seat and battling discouragement. I like how you explained the possible reason for detours and delays, “It’s only there to protect you from taking a road you are not yet prepared to travel. Keep walking faithfully with Christ and remember that just because you believe you are ready for a change, for a relationship, or for a new opportunity or season doesn’t mean that God thinks so too.” Amen!! And praise God!! I am one of those people that once I see what I want I am gong-ho in! Like a racehorse at the gate in the Kentucky Derby, I am ready to run off. But oftentimes, it seems God sets me at the gate then tells me to sit. I am learning to trust Him in the waiting. Again, Anna! What an encouraging word and clearly from the heart of God!
P.S. Thank you for the link up! Blessings in Christ!! 🙂
I totally feel the same way. I’m a huge “planner” so I’ve always got a plan for everything in my life, and if one plan fails I just make another one, and then when they all fail I just give up and surrender it to God (which is what I should have done in the first place) 😉 When God wants us to sit or take a break it’s always for our best, even when we don’t know why.
Thanks for your post! I was already writing a draft on this post but when I read yours I was inspired to finish it a little faster 😉 Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Be blessed!
Wow! Really? You were already writing about it?! We seem to be moving in the same Spirit. 😉
I know, right? 😉 That seems to happen often with me! It’s awesome when you have something on your mind and heart for a long time and you see someone else share about it too! It re-confirms for me that God is speaking to many of us on the same subject! I hope you enjoyed your weekend!
Yes!! That’s what it does for me too. Just confirms the word the Lord is speaking. My weekend was tough but good. I hope you enjoyed yours! Blessings to you, my sister! 🙂
‘Not yet’…a tough one to deal with but God’s timing is always perfect! Have a good day!
I couldn’t agree more Brian! God’s timing is perfect… and always a little different from ours 🙂 Be blessed!
This post was just what I needed to read. I graduated in the beginning of May and don’t have a job in my field. I had many plans, but when I was told “no” for job after job, I realized God not only had different plans, but he didn’t want me at that job. It’s been tough and I never pictured myself graduating college and being a waitress until I get a job in my field, but I know I’m where God wants me to be. I love love love thinking of this as a delay instead of a detour. Thanks for this post!
Hi Jenna, it is hard not getting the job you want after you walk off that stage of graduation and are so excited to finally put all your knowledge and abilities to work but it’s very rare for someone to get the job they’ve always wanted the first time around (or the first few times around) at least that’s what I know from many of my friends experience. So keep sending those resumes in and don’t give up hope. There’s gotta be an opportunity waiting for you somewhere out there but until then you need to just keep on knocking on doors, praying, and having faith that at the right time God will open one of them for you. 🙂 Be blessed!
I love how you listen.
To Him.
To others.
And to the cry of your own heart that presses hard after the Lord, knowing that the perfect Daddy has plans to prosper you in the future He’s already ordained.
Great blog on being humble, faithful and persistent, as God allows or causes us to take difficult detours, encounter unwanted setbacks, and experiences waiting times!
Thanks Dave! Those detours may be hard but they are always there for a good reason!
Awesome Anna! I’m always behind everyone else it seems with life…it bothered me for a long time. Recently I’ve learned getting to know God on the journey is worth being behind everyone else. He’s the reason we are here. So, it’s not about arriving somewhere, it’s about being with and getting to know a person (God Himself).
Thanks Erin!! “It’s not about arriving somewhere, it’s about being with and getting to know a person” So beautifully stated! It doesn’t matter how fast or slow we get to where God is leading us to as long as we become more like Him in the process!
I love your pictures and your heart behind your work. Look forward to someday meeting you and getting to collaborate through some form of writing or art. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Thanks! The pictures are not mine (usually from pinterest or other websites where you can find images for blogs) 😉 I’d love to meet you someday too! Let me know if you ever come down to Seattle and maybe we can make it happen!
Thank you for this post! It reminds me to trust God’s timing and to not settle on the second best because God has a good, pleasing and perfect plan for my life! Your blog posts are such an inspiration, Anna. =)
Reblogged this on Flying High, Flying Free and commented:
In His time. 🙂