DEVOTIONAL
#faith #motivation #scripture #inspiration #bible #devotional
by Roger Huston, PhD, MPA
📖 “So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods. Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again?” (Galatians 4:7-9).
🤔 Do you ever feel like you are headed in the wrong direction? No matter how hard you plan and try to prepare, do you sometimes end up in a place you did not intend? 😞
Many people are familiar with the confusing nature of detours on roads. Roads get used, abused, and overused. They need to be repaired. In order to restore them to a safe and sustainable operating condition, traffic is sometimes re-routed around them so workers can take the time to fix them. ⛔
⚠ The same thing sometimes happens in our faith journey. We keep going down the same paths expecting it to take us to the place for which WE planned and prepared. Eventually, that path may require a tune-up or repair.
Enter the detour or re-routing of your faith journey—the path is unfamiliar! You feel lost. You don’t know where you are going. You don’t know how long it will take. You don’t know if something bad will happen along the way. This path can be scary. There are many unknowns. Yet, you may innately trust that this new path will eventually get you to where you need to go. 🙏
The bible is filled with stories, parables, and declarations about changing directions. For example, “The wise are cautious and turn away from evil, but the fool throws off restraint and is careless” (Proverbs 14:16) and “Surely one does not turn against the needy, when in disaster they cry for help” (Job 30:24). Indeed, in almost all cases, “the fix” for this change in direction is trusting God and having faith in His plans. Indeed, the word “repent” literally means to change direction or change your mind: “Repent [🗣 Greek: ‘metanoesate’] therefore, and turn to God…” (Acts 3:19).
One of the many things we have learned from the pandemic is that we need to change directions. 🔀 We have to be able to change our minds when presented with better information. We must be able to pivot when necessary. When we are headed down strange and unfamiliar detours in life or our faith, we can see it as an opportunity for growth. God will help to guide us down this path if we put our trust in Him. Sometimes we learn the most about ourselves, our faith, and our relationship with God when we overcome obstacles. 🧐
Faith is not the enemy of being agile! 🙌 On the contrary, our faith helps us through these challenges and allows us to discover alternate ways to arrive at our intended destination. And on certain occasions, detours can even help us arrive at new places entirely. There are several times when driving that I discovered a new place I wanted to visit after I embarked on a winding detour. 🙋🏼♂️ There are other times that I had to turn around and start over again.
The trick for our faith journeys is not to be afraid and to trust that God will help us arrive at the destination of His choosing. Until then, we must remain flexible, adaptive, nimble, and able to pivot and change our minds to discern God’s will, not our own. When faced with new knowledge or experiences that challenge your assumptions and previous ways of thinking and doing, let your faith guide you to two truths: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). 💯
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