It’s easy to feel that way when God is taking you to your destiny. In other words, he felt as if he were running into detour after detour after detour, and the detours merely kept replicating and multiplying rather than taking him anywhere meaningful. He had been going through a rough time.Īs he sat in my family room, head hung low, he lifted his eyes to mine and said, “Pastor, I feel as if my detour has met another detour, and they got married and had a baby detour.” Not too long ago, one of the men from the church came to my home to meet with me. I can honestly say I enjoy this aspect of being a pastor immensely. Part of my role as pastor involves mentoring and counseling. “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance and perseverance, proven character and proven character, hope and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 (NASB) Tony Evans, Detours: The Unpredictable Path to Your Destiny (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2017).Loading the player. When we fulfill our God-ordained destinies, God wants others to see the beauty of Him through us, and that takes refinement in us. He wants to make sure that image reflects Him well. We, as God’s masterpieces, bear our Master’s name and image. Surrender is a critical secret to speeding up the process toward your destiny. Our lack of compliance with God’s development in our hearts, spirit, and souls will far too often prolong that which we do not enjoy. We are the cause of our own additional detours. Far too often, we are the cause of our own delays. The same holds true for us on our detours. How long would that ironing session take, then, if the shirt simply lay flat and allowed you to press it into perfection? Or what if it would bundle itself up into a tight ball each time you attempted to iron it. Imagine if it kept hopping up off the ironing board. Now imagine if that shirt you were ironing wouldn’t sit still. In the same way, God has to put us through the fires of refinement to smooth out the rough places and correct our flaws. And why do we iron shirts, pants, and dresses? Because we want to look good when we wear them.
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When you iron a shirt that is wrinkled, you have to add steam and heat in order to get the wrinkles out. It’s only when we fuss, fight, and complain that our detours drag on longer than necessary. But God will accomplish His desired result, if you allow Him. They are times when God seeks to mold us into the character He can use for the good works He has prepared.
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These seasons are what we can refer to as a detour. Sometimes this requires learning, growing, and developing as a person. As you walk in the path of good works He has laid out, you will fulfill your destiny. That means the good works God has prepared for you are the biblically authorized activities that bring God glory and benefit others. Not only are you a masterpiece, but God has also prepared good works for you to do. God will continue shaping and molding you as His masterpiece over the course of many detours until you are ready to fully realize all He has for you to do.
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He takes you on a path that will give you the grace to grow. To do this, He often puts detours in your life in order to develop you.
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In order for you to be the masterpiece God wants you to be, He must sanctify you and make you more like Jesus Christ.