Detours

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

 

Proverbs 3:5-6 

A man turned off the interstate to get gas for his car, as he was returning from a business trip and it was very late.

After getting gas, he turned onto the road he had gotten off of that lead to the gas station, and looked for the entrance ramp to get back on the interstate.

It was dark and he could not see any signs. He made a turn to the right that appeared to be the turn he needed to make. And could see the interstate was next to the road.

As he continued down this road, the interstate was on his left. It soon became obvious it was not the entrance road but rather a frontage road. He assumed it would take him to the next interchange.

However, the road soon turned away from the interstate—it grew darker and darker. The road then became a dirt road. He realized he was not going to get to the interstate on this road. Being a bit frustrated that he had made the wrong turn, he turned around and went back, losing valuable time.

It is easy to make assumptions about the path we are on. If God's Spirit has not enlightened our reasoning, we are inclined to make the wrong choices. Our choices seem right at the time, but later we discover these choices have led us away from God because they were based on our own reasoning.

Acknowledge God in all your ways and lean completely on Him to reveal His direction for your life. As you do, God will direct you to the desired destination He has for you.

In the end the man went back to the gas station and asked the clerk what direction he must take to get back onto the interstate. If we only take time to seek God in the first place we would avoid some of the unneeded detours we place on ourselves, when we fail to get direction from Him first.