When God Veers the Path

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Several years ago, while riding bicycles, my family found a route from our neighborhood through a beautifully wooded bike trail leading downtown to our favorite local restaurant. So often, on Saturday afternoons, we load up on bikes, put our portable speaker in my bicycle basket, and play some tunes while we cruise the five-mile round trip to grab some lunch. It's one of our favorite things to do as a family. We've made the trip many times and become familiar with this route. My husband typically leads the way, our kids fall to the middle, and I stay in the back in case one of our kids straggles behind. At one point on our path, we must cross a busy roundabout where traffic flows quickly. My husband, in the lead, is always careful not to cross until he is confident we can all get across together safely. But a few weeks ago, as we made the trip, I followed his lead while watching ahead to ensure my kids got across safely. As I began to cross, I looked up to see my husband quickly making a U-turn in the middle of the intersection and coming right for me. I thought, What is happening? What in the world is he doing? Why is he veering off our path? But Justin had seen what I did not. A careless car came quickly from my blind spot until the driver saw my 6-foot-tall husband coming to my rescue to drive his bike between the car and me. 

They stopped well before they came close to us, and it wasn't a terribly dramatic scene, but after the knight in shining armor moment wore off, and the stars dissipated from my eyes for my protective husband, I began to think of how similar situations have played out in my spiritual life.

Perhaps you can relate.

There I am, traveling down a path I am familiar with. Maybe it's a path I am paving for myself, and perhaps I even believe God is paving it for me until, Whoa, I'm completely blindsided by something I never saw coming. I expect God to swoop in and save me from disaster, just as my husband did that day. Sometimes, He does. But other times, He has allowed the blow to take place. For me, these blows have come in the form of an illness, a sick child, abandonment in a relationship that once meant the world to me, the setback of an opportunity in my career, and other struggles. Perhaps today, you are dealing with some similar trials. Maybe you expected God to swoop in and save you by now, but instead, the path you were traveling has left you lying on the pavement, bruised and battered. Perhaps you even feel God has left you there and carried on his way without you. You look up in complete confusion with those same questions. What is happening? What in the world is God doing? Why did He veer me off my path? Maybe you even ask, Why did God forget me? and Where do I go from here?

Friend, I promise He hasn't forgotten you. God often uses those blows in our life because He protects us from something we can't see coming. He knows the danger that lurks around each corner when we can't see it. 

Can I ask you to consider that perhaps the blow itself was God's plan for your protection?

Here is what I know-

That illness humbles me. That sick child pulls me closer to the Lord than I could ever be without the hurt and struggle. The person who abandoned me was pulling me away from the life God was calling me toward. That career opportunity that fell through didn’t come in His timing. While sometimes I don't always see it right away, if I seek His will and guidance- I am comforted that His protection was better than anything I could have ever planned for myself, even when I don't understand it- and even when it hurts.

God's plans can be so hard to comprehend at times. We aren't wired like Him. We are prone to take the easy routes. We won't always understand what He is doing, and we certainly won't always like it, but I encourage you to meditate on this scripture and then keep reading a little further. Verse 11 says His plans aren't designed to harm us but to give us hope and a future. But don't stop there- because the next verse states, "Then you will call on me and come and pray to me: and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Friend, the only way to have peace with His plan when it wasn't part of ours is to seek Him with all our hearts. I encourage you to open your whole heart to Him today, and while we may still not totally understand His reasoning, we can be comforted knowing that He is our protector whether His plans align with ours or not. His plan for our destination may not be found upon a perfect path, but it is always so much better than our own.