Living on the Detour

 

“I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.”

—Isaiah 42:16

I don’t know about you, but I’m not comfortable, nor eager, to use detours. They take me out of my way. They take me places I may never have been, or places I don’t really want to go. Can I trust the guy who set up the signs that they will get me where I need to go? What if somebody moved the signs? This just slows me down and wastes my time.

This year of the COVID-19 pandemic seems like a detour. We were moving blissfully through life, as we knew it, on our way to somewhere of our own making and suddenly, without notice, we ran into the sign: “Warning! Detour! COVID-19! Shut down. Stay home. Stay away from people.” Without any time to ponder, we had to sit still and watch the world go by, with no indication of how long we would remain sidelined.

Yet, as we turn the corner into a new decade and a new year, I know that this detour continues. It does not magically disappear, just because we have the promise of a miracle vaccine. Rarely do things go as smoothly, or as quickly, as we would desire. Like driving on back streets, it seems to slow us down and cause us to say, “Hey, I’m not getting any younger here!”

So, as Christians, what should we do, as we travel on this detour? Should we simply bide our time and wait it out until better days come along? What if those better times don’t appear? What if God has other plans for us, plans that are vastly different than the plans we might make? He knows we are blind to His sovereign purposes. But, God wants to lead us. God wants us to trust Him. And, what if He actually wants us to “live on the detour”?

In a favorite book of mine, The Scars That Have Shaped Me, written by Vaneetha Rendall Risner, ¹ she spends a chapter on this very subject. She writes:

The old road often seems like it was more relaxing and easy to drive. The new road can be bumpy and twisty, narrow with sharp curves. And I find myself longing for the ease of what I used to have. But the new road has benefits too, perhaps not in ease but in seeing life differently. More reflectively. Really noticing reality rather than rushing forward, oblivious to my surroundings… I realize that I cannot cling to the past. I cannot get back on the old road and put everything back the way it was… But the old road is gone. And in my mind, it will often be remembered as better than it actually was.

As we begin this new year on the same detour, we need to slow down and admire the scenery. We need to find new ways to glorify God and enjoy Him. We need to make good use of this time. We need to experience new joys and hopes for the New Year.

After all, even though we may find that, like the Israelites in the wilderness, we are “living on a detour,” we will find that God will lead us forward with His light and His provision. We certainly can’t do any better than that.

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1 Risner, Vaneetha Rendall. The Scars that Have Shaped Me. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Desiring God Publishing Company, 2016. Pp. 68-69.