To Detour or Not to Detour

Have you experienced a scene like this? Not necessarily in Denver, but somewhere. I’m pretty sure my blood pressure goes up just at the sight of this photo. I hate getting caught in traffic jams like this one. It can throw a huge wrench into your entire day’s plans.

There are times when you have carefully planned out what time to leave the house with what should be the right amount of time to reach your destination. But then, just as soon as you get up to speed on the freeway, all forward movement ceases. There are no alternative routes or exits in sight. There is no way out. You’re stuck. There is nothing you can do to avoid the situation and get on your way. You just have to wait. And exhibit patience. And arrive late to your destination. (I hate being late!)

This happened to me over this past weekend when I left the house to go to Beth Moore’s Living Proof Live event up in Ft. Collins. A 97 mile trip (that should have taken 1½ hours, sans traffic) ended up taking me 3½ hours. I checked the traffic right before I left, and at least my path from Colorado Springs up to Denver looked clear. As soon as I got onto the freeway, there was a helpful sign announcing, “Crash ahead. Expect delays.” Thanks for the heads-up, but it did me no good since there was no detour available. I was stuck in an unexpected traffic gridlock with no way out. I had to sit and wait.

If you have a smart phone with a good map app, sometimes it can steer you towards a detour. It will ask if you’d like to avoid the traffic jam, and then it will direct you off of the main road, out of the mess, and back on your way. Although it may take you miles out of the way, at least you’re still moving. On my way back home from the Beth Moore event, I encountered two more time-consuming crashes, but in each of these cases, I was able to take a detour and keep moving.

In all my time on the road this weekend, I was thinking: don’t you wish that in life we could avoid certain gridlocks and traffic jams? I’m not talking about real traffic, but about what happens in our lives. What if there was an app that could alert us to what’s coming up and it could give us the option of taking a detour. You know, it could say something like: “Job loss ahead. Proceed with caution. Turn here to avoid.” Or “Serious illness and pain ahead. Exit the freeway to avoid this area.” Or maybe, “Relationship hurt and strife. Take the next exit to maneuver around it.”

The pain or the gridlock in front of you might be a result of your own error, but most often (as in literal traffic), it’s probably not. It’s the result of something or someone else outside your control. Whatever the cause, you’re in a mess. Headed straight for, or in the middle of, something that is painful, is a delay, or a long trek through the wilderness. And there is no way out. You have to just buckle up and endure it until you’re past it all. You may even be straining your eyes towards the horizon in an effort to see the end of the gridlock, but there is nothing but an endless line of brake lights as far as you can see. No way out.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Romans chapter 8. There are so many good verses in there. Verse 27 is very well-known and often quoted. You're likely familiar with it. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (NIV). So if God uses everything to work for good, He must mean that He uses even the traffic jams of life –all the junk that we would just really rather get to detour around. 

Why can’t we take a detour in order to avoid all the pain, the waiting, the wilderness, and the trauma? If God is using everything for our good, could it be that we would miss out on some of the good if we were allowed to detour around it? Could it be that particular element of good would be missing from our lives if that piece of the puzzle was missing? This is not to say that God caused the crash or the source of pain or purposely sent you through it, but He definitely says that He uses it for good. But could the good that is gained be worth the pain? Exactly how good could that good be if we have to endure whatever pain we’re walking through in order to receive it?

I want to draw a possible connection between Romans 8:28 and another verse further up the chapter. In verse 18, the apostle Paul says that he considers “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Is there a connection between these two verses (other than the obvious answer of verses 19 through 27)? Could it be that our traffic jam pain is not worth comparing to the good that God will work out for us if we persevere until we arrive at our destination?

When I was sitting in that traffic mess trying to get to Fort Collins, I seriously considered turning around and going home. Just forget it. A conference is not worth driving in traffic for 3½ hours. I had never been to one of these conferences so I didn’t really know what to expect. What if I drove that long for a disappointing experience? But I had a responsibility. I volunteered to serve, so even though I would be very late, I kept going. And you know what? It was worth the drive and the frustration. After I got there, I really forgot about the traffic frustrations. 

How much more will we forget about all of our frustrations and pain once we are past our difficulties --whether that be at the end of a particular season of trial or at the end of life when we reach our final destination and see Jesus face to face?

For further reflection on this idea, listen to the song “For the Heartbreak,” sung by the group Downhere. This is a song my husband, Chris, suggested. The lyrics are very fitting, particularly the final phrase which asks, “What if the road to the goal were the easiest road and I never learned what I know?” 

To detour or not to detour. That is the question.

How Does the Lord Direct our Steps?

Imagine that you have set out on a journey. You checked the map, consulted Google, and marked out what seems to be the best path to your destination. However, to your surprise, not very far into the journey, you hit a dead-end and all forward motion was blocked with a sign like this...

You decide that you obviously made a wrong turn somewhere, so you turn around, start down a slightly different path, but soon you are met with a sign like this one...

Obviously this is not the right way either, so you turn around once again, study the map, examine the detour signs, and begin again, only to be met with a sign like this one...

I'm sure you would agree that this would be an extremely frustrating road trip. You'd probably want to give up, turn around, and just go home. I know I would.

When we moved to the Denver, Colorado area two-and-a-half years ago for my husband to manage the LifeWay Store in Centennial, Colorado, I immediately started applying to Worship Ministry positions at churches in Denver and the surrounding area. It had only been about three months since earning my M.A. in Worship Studies and being ordained into Christian Ministry, so this process shouldn't take too long, right? After all, this was the path I believed God had me on, and it was the direction the map seemed to be pointing. 

However, this turned out not to be a quick and easy journey, but one as frustrating as the journey described above. We were constantly met with roadblocks, and with signs that said “Road Closed” and “Do Not Enter” at every turn. Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years. All I heard was “No. No. No. No.” “Not here.” (Or sometimes just crickets in the otherwise deafening silence.) At last count, I think I had applied to over 50 churches ---both in the Denver area and out-of-state. The answer to everything and everywhere was “No. Do not enter. Road closed. Go away." 

We began to doubt the map and asked God, “Are we even supposed to be here? Was moving to Colorado a mistake? Why did I ever think that You called me to serve You in ministry? Why was I ordained if it would all be for naught after only three months?”

Last fall, after two years in Littleton, our apartment lease was up and we received a notice that they were going to raise our rent. This was not a small increase. It was a big one. We looked everywhere for something else, but couldn’t find anything in the Denver area that we could afford. 

Well this has been a fabulous two years. I have run into nothing but discouragement looking for a ministry position. My purse was stolen in broad daylight. My computer suffered a bizarre crash that even dumbfounded the computer repair guy. Then I broke my foot while still living in a third-floor apartment. Now we can’t find a place to live. Fabulous.

A friend in Colorado Springs suggested that we look there because housing there was more affordable than in Denver. I really resisted this idea at first. I thought it would be much too far for Chris to drive up to Centennial for work, and that’s what brought us to Colorado in the first place. Plus, I didn't want to uproot our kids and move them to a different school system again.

Although it took some convincing, we finally agreed to go look at houses on the north side of Colorado Springs. We not only found a house that was in our price range, but one that we love! It even has a nice view of the mountains from the front porch. Okay, so maybe Colorado Springs is where we need to be. Chris’ commute is about 40 minutes --- pretty much the same as what it was in Texas, but with views of the mountains rather than fields and houses. The kids settled into their new schools very well and have made new friends.

So after more than two years of blocked roads and frustrating signs like this...

...it was just a few weeks after moving to Colorado Springs that God opened the door for me to lead the Worship Ministry at Grandview Community Church. In one of my interviews there, I was asked if I could be happy with a part-time position rather than full-time. After thinking a minute, I answered, “Actually, what I would really like is a part-time Worship Ministry position and a part-time Worship Professor position at a Christian college, but I haven’t found that here either.”

I kid you not --- it was the very next day following this conversation that I received an email from Dallas Christian College, where I earned my undergrad Worship degree, asking if I would be interesting in teaching the traditional format of “Worship Theology and Practice” via distance learning technology. Then----another week or so after that, I found a part-time office job with an organization that works with Christian education. Talk about a green light rather than a "Road Closed" sign! We are in a house, and I now have three jobs that are all related, that are all in my field of experience and passion, and that all work together. 

In the past couple of months since these changes have taken place, I have really been contemplating the differences and the similarities between these two situations:

“For we wanted to come to you –certainly I, Paul, did, again and again –but Satan blocked our way.” (1 Thess 2:18 NIV)

“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” [Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia calling him, so they] got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Acts 16:6-7, 10 NIV).

While we were in Littleton, was Satan the source of our frustrations as Paul wrote about in Thessalonians? Was he blocking my path in order to try to frustrate and discourage me so that I would quit serving in the Kingdom of God? Or was it like the situation that Luke described? Did the Holy Spirit block us at every turn so that we would leave Denver and move down to Colorado Springs to be able to serve where He wanted and where He had planned? I believe He does plan these things --- “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10 NIV).   

Proverbs 20:24 says, “The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?” (NLT). How does He direct our steps? Could it be through “Road Closed” and “Do Not Enter” signs rather than just by opening doors? Could it be that a small molehill in your way would not make you change paths, but a giant blockade would? Could it be that He sometimes has to take drastic action to move you from your own path to the one He wants you to be on because you have no idea where the road is headed or where He wants to take you on your journey? I know. We just read "why try to understand everything along the way." But it does make me wonder what all God uses to direct our steps. 

All the "Road Closed" and “Dead End” signs are very frustrating, depressing, and heart-wrenching while you are in the midst of seeking where the Lord is directing you. And we may not ever understand all of the steps and mis-steps along the way. However, it can be a great joy to be able to look back and trace all the ways the Lord directed your steps in order to bring you to where He wants you to be, where you can do the good works He planned long ago for you to do.

The Secret in Psalm 23:1

I have been slowly working my way through the Psalms, and I recently made it up to Psalm 23. This is such a familiar passage that it would have been very easy to just roll right through it without stopping to contemplate its great meaning and depth. After all, I've had it memorized since childhood. I decided to go through it very slowly, but I didn't think I'd be this slow. I was stopped at the very first verse ----

I lack nothing. Nothing? Do I really believe that there is nothing I lack, or do I constantly have a long list of things that I think I need?

“The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need” (NLT).

Is everything that is on my list actually a need, or is it mostly wants?

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (ESV).

I shall not? Is being able to say “I lack nothing” just a matter of will? Can I just decide that I will be satisfied with what I have and not beg God for a long list of more and more?

Psalm 23:1 reminds me of the apostle Paul's very well-known statement that he “can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13 NIV). Paul is not saying that he can accomplish every goal that he sets for himself, but in order to see what it is that he can do and how this verse reflects Psalm 23:1, we need to back up to verse 12.

It had never occurred to me before, but it appears that Paul’s statement in Philippians 4:12-13 can be seen as a restatement of Psalm 23:1. Paul says, 

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Phil 4:12-13 NIV). 

In other words, I think Paul is saying, The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing –I have all that I need –I shall not want.

Paul says that he has learned the secret of being content in any circumstance. How do we learn his secret ---this ability to be content, the ability to honestly say "I lack nothing," the ability to be satisfied with what we do have –especially in a culture where we are daily bombarded with all the stuff that we “need”?

Whatever our current situation – whether we have very little or very much –we can succumb to an attitude of discontentment and of always wanting more. If I’m not content when I have more than enough, might God take it away until I have learned to be content in Him, trusting Him as my shepherd and provider? In the same way, if I’m not content when I have little to nothing, might God leave me in that situation until I have learned to be content with what I have and not constantly be searching for and desiring more and more?

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing –I have all that I need –I shall not want…I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation…”

The secret to being able to say "I lack nothing" seems to lie with trusting the Lord as my shepherd --my guide, my provider, my master, my strength. While I can’t say, like Paul, that “I have learned the secret…” maybe I can say “I am learning the secret of being content and of being able to say "I lack nothing." 

My Savior's Always There for Me

We have about a week left in Texas, and I had the privilege of spending one of my final two Sundays here leading worship at Southwood Christian Church. One of the songs I felt led to use is one that has become particularly meaningful to me. To be honest, it never really grabbed my attention when it was constantly playing on the radio several years ago, but it has come to mean much more to me during this time of transition.

Aaron Shust's song "My Savior, My God" is a 2007 re-make of an 1875 hymn written by Dorothy Dora Greenwell. This song begins by saying "I am not skilled to understand what God has willed, what God has planned." Let me assure you that I can sing this line from the heart! We are in the midst of so many changes, transitions, frustrations, and uncertainties -- I cannot see what God has willed or planned here.

I know for a fact that there are others who are going through trials and events far more difficult than what we have been walking through. Regardless of the trial, I'm pretty sure that most of us have things in our lives that we just do not understand --things that we can't yet see any purpose in, things that just don't seem to make sense.

Fortunately, Shust's song does not end with the line about our inability to understand. We don't understand ---BUT, to continue the song: "I only know at His right hand stands One who is my Savior...[and] my Savior loves, my Savior lives, my Savior is ALWAYS there for me." What a wonderful assurance! Even when I don't understand, I know Jesus is alive...He loves me...He has saved me...He is right beside me...He is always with me...He is Immanuel. May we keep that assurance in mind at all times, no matter our circumstances and regardless of whether or not we understand those plans or circumstances.

"I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me" (Ps 16:8 NLT).

Trust in the Lord and Do Good

When my third-grader was three-years old, she had one memory verse to learn each month at her preschool. For some reason, she latched onto the verse from October. For the remainder of the school year, if you asked her what her memory verse was, she would always quote this same verse ---"Trust in the Lord and do good" (Psalm 37:7 NIV). (If you click on the link, you can get the full effect and hear it in her sweet little three-year-old voice.)

This verse has obviously had my attention for awhile, but now it will be code for the wise message contained in the entire psalm, which is a word of wisdom for all of us who struggle with fear, doubt, worry, or frustration over the actions of others.

In reflecting on the wise counsel of this psalm, I wrote out my own paraphrase of Psalm 37:

Stop getting all worked up and in a panic because of people who do evil. They amount to nothing and soon they will disappear. Instead, trust the Lord. Do what He says and follow His ways. Enjoy life where He has planted you. Enjoy resting in His presence. Know in your heart that He loves you and He wants what is best for you. Trust Him that He will provide for you. Follow His leading and His ability to enable you to have a right relationship with Him. Know that if you have been wronged, He will vindicate you in a way that all will see. 

Wait patiently in stillness and in silence in His presence. Stop worrying about whether the enemy will succeed or if they will get what is coming to them. Let go of all your anger and frustration over what they have done, and leave vengeance to God. Soon the wicked will be gone and those who seek the Lord will all live together in peace.

God is well aware of the actions of the wicked. He knows their hearts, and He will not let wickedness and injustice go unpunished. In fact, the very weapons they try to use to attack God's people will come back on them instead. 

Don't worry --God holds us, His children, in His hand where He can protect us. He has plans for us and no one can thwart His plans. He will not forsake us or desert us. He will care for us and bless us. The Lord knows that we struggle, but He loves His children who seek to follow Him. He holds us by the hand and helps us up when we stumble. He will not abandon us to failure. God is faithful and can be trusted to keep His promises.

Even when we only speak words of wisdom and justice, the wicked will still try to attack, but the Lord will protect us. The wicked cannot condemn us because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  

Life may become difficult. The situation may look dismal, but God has a plan. Wait for that plan. Be patient. Remain obedient to Him. There is a bright future for all of us who follow the Lord. The wicked have no such future because there is absolutely no hope apart from God. He is our anchor, our source of security and hope. He can be relied upon, especially in the midst of a trial or storm. Take refuge in Him. Stay close to Him. He will deliver.

This psalm about control. Who or what am I going to allow to control me: fear, anger, anxiety, worry, frustration, wicked people who are destined for destruction? Or the Lord, who is faithful, merciful, and compassionate...my Father and Creator who loves me, protects me, leads me and guides me, helps me and provides for me?

"Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name" (Psalm 86:11 NIV). And may I always "Trust in the Lord and do good."