Construction

Construction. All I wanted to do was get home after being gone for three days. After flight delays and having to wait to get a gate at the airport so we could get off the plane, I was finally in the car and on my way home. It started off just fine until I came to about 30 miles of nighttime construction. We came to a standstill as we went down to just one lane. An hour drive turned into over an hour and a half and it was after midnight when I walked through the door and I was finally home.

If we think about it, we want our Christian life to be just like my expectation after I got off the plane: just a straight smooth shot home without any bumps in the road. Unfortunately, life isn’t like that at all. There are bumps, slow downs, detours and pit stops. Each one of those delays come at just the right time and for specific reasons. God uses them to redirect us, to slow us down or to keep us safe.

James said it this way, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” - James 1:2-4.

Paul said something similar to the Romans, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” - Romans 5:3-5.

When we come to bumps, delays and detours, we can have faith that they are for our good and not for our destruction. We can use these situations to grow in our faith in God by knowing that He is fully aware of our path and the best route for us to get there safely and according to His will.

So, as I sat in line last night waiting to get through the construction zones, I turned up the radio and sang along (I am not a very good singer but by myself I sound just like one of the band) praising God for the fact that He had gotten me back home safely even though it may not have been in my timing.

Have a great day and God bless.