New Roads

When things don’t go the way I planned, I want to believe that it’s only temporary, and that life will soon return to ‘normal’. But what if the road you are now on, is the new normal? What happens when God creates a ‘detour’ that is actually the new road?

We all want our ‘detours’ to be just that. Temporary changing of our nicely laid plans, to be returned to the way they were once the little time of testing is done.

But God doesn’t follow our plans. Our plans are flawed. We are short-sighted. We don’t have God’s perfect vision. We can’t see so far ahead as to know what may lie in our path.

When God puts us on these new roads, we question Him. We can’t understand why He would choose to take us down a bumpy, windy, narrow and dangerous road. We long for the ease of the ‘old road’. In our minds, we are certain that the old road was the good road. The old road was paved with ease. If only God would get us off this wild detour and give us back our old road. “Surely this is just a detour, Lord?” And we hear His soft answer, “No, my child. This is now the road.”

Why is it we remember the old roads as being so easy and so ‘normal’? Have we forgotten the giants we faced while travelling that road? Why do we remember them better than they actually were?

When the Israelites were wandering in the desert, they began to question God’s love and His ability to provide. They remembered only the good things about the Egypt they had been delivered from.

Numbers 11:5-6

 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

But they had forgotten something very important. They had forgotten that in Egypt, they were slaves! There they were, complaining about not having garlic and leeks, and longing for the Egypt they remembered, somehow forgetting the part about being slaves!  What kind of memory is that? Had they forgotten the many times they cried to God to deliver them out of slavery? Their lives in Egypt were far from perfect.

But, are we any different than the grumbling Israelites? Do we choose to grumble and complain about the circumstances God puts us in and forget all the blessings He has showered upon us?

The new road God has us on may seem hard and it may seem unfair. But God has a purpose for each and every road He asks you to take. The old road may have seemed less bumpy, but the new road will lead you closer to Him.

Often, when life is easy, we neglect to notice our surroundings. We rush blindly on, oblivious to what is around us. The bumps in the road cause us to stop and to seek God more wholeheartedly. The twists and turns drive us closer to the Lord. We cling to Him as we know that it is only Him that can help us through.

On a personal note, I know a little of new roads and unending detours.  Last year, God took me on a road I thought would never end. He took me through a time of darkness that was so dark I could almost feel the inky blackness. I cried out to Him continually. I didn’t want to be on this new road He had me on. I wanted everything to return to the old way. I resisted, I fought, I cried. I asked for deliverance repeatedly and yet, it didn’t come. I longed to return to normal again. I wanted out. I didn’t want this trial.

God had me on a very difficult road. But He knew that I needed to be on that road. He knew I needed to draw closer to Him than ever before. He knew that by taking me down this new road, I would never be the same. I would seek His face. Morning, night and noon. All day long. I would run to the Rock. I would be driven to Him. I would need him as never before, and when it was all over, I would be walking closer to Him and I would have a deeper relationship with Him than I could ever had imagined. I would have new promises from the Word of God to cling to when the waves threatened to overwhelm me. I would have a stronger set of armour to defeat the Devil’s attacks. I would understand more about the things we wrestle with and the importance of being armoured with God’s armour.

Ephesians 6:12

 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

But God in His love and is compassion didn’t leave me there in that dark place. He brought me through. He was there beside me the whole time. Anytime of night or day that I cried out to Him, He was there. Listening. Answering. Loving. His promises held true. The strength He gave me enabled me, with His help, to fight off the attacks of the Devil. To let the Devil know that he has already been defeated and he will never win.

He led me through the way I didn’t know. Through paths I had not travelled. Down a road that was to become my new road.

Isaiah 42:16

 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

We all know that hindsight is a wonderful thing. I only wish we could have better sight during our trials. But really, if we knew what God had instore for us in the future and the difficulties He would have us face, we would just lay down and die right there and then.

God and God alone knows what He wants you to face and He knows how much you can bear. And even when you are sure you can’t handle anymore, He gives more grace and enables you to take that next step. One foot after another. Step by step. Moment by moment. He will bring you through.

God wants you to remember His goodness. Remember His promises. His love.

Psalm 77:10-12

 And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

These verses were a comfort to me during my long road. I had to daily make a choice to remember the works of the Lord. I had to make a choice to meditate on them.

And now, coming through to the other side, I have even more to remember. And I have more to share with others. God has helped me to become more sensitive to others’ needs. To show more compassion. To show more love. To desire to reach down a hand and lift the fallen. Where once before I may have shown a callous indifference or even a judgemental attitude to those in dark places, I now see them with different eyes. Eyes that have been opened through hard times. Eyes that now can see what they couldn’t see before.

2 Corinthians 1:4

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

There are so many verses in the Bible that I would love to share with you. God sees what you’re going through. It doesn’t matter if no one else knows the struggles you’re facing. God knows. He sees. He orchestrates. Trust Him. Let Him lead you through. Let Him be the light you follow. Psalm 23 still holds true today as it did in David’s day.

Psalm 23:4

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

 Don’t let the thought that your detour is your new road be a discouragement to you. Take it as a challenge. A challenge to deepen your relationship with God. A time to draw close to Him. A time to learn. A time to grow and a time to share what God has brought you through.

New roads don’t have to be feared. They can be faced with courage!

Psalm 46:1-11

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.