NOTE: In a stroke of irony, I’m going to take a detour from my series, A Call for Worship Leaders. If you haven’t had the chance, you can read part 1 and part 2 of this series. Part 3 and part 4 will follow soon.
Before you begin, please take a moment to read Psalm 37:1-7, 23.
Detours are part of almost every trip. In some cases, we forgot to pack something and need to take a detour to a store. Sometimes you simply need to get off the road and rest for a little while. Sometimes you see an interesting billboard ad and decide to follow the signs. Then there are those times you simply take a wrong turn and try to find you way back.
Detours are part of life’s journey as well. We don’t always choose to take them, though sometimes they certainly are the result of our poor choices. But what do you do when you’re on a detour and it seems like you did everything you were supposed to do? You actively sought God’s will and pursued His calling and yet you find yourself now on this detour trying to get back on the path.
It is on these detours in life that we must intentionally guard our thinking. It is very easy to blame others, our circumstances, and even God. It is easy to look at the unbelievers around us who are prospering and getting everything they desire. All the while, here we are, God’s children, confused and seemingly lost.
Rather than blaming or getting discouraged, the Psalmist offers us some important thought-altering decisions we can make while on a detour.
Trust God
This is the most important decision for us to make when we find ourselves on a detour. It is foundational to every decision that will follow. We must trust in God’s providence and His provision.
It’s amazing how often we fret when we ought to remember that our Father is not only aware of our situation, but is actively working on our behalf.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28
But what does it mean to trust God? Is it just a nice feeling as we tell ourselves over and over that God is in control? I believe there are two important components in trusting God: decision and duty.
First, we must make the decision to trust. Trust focuses on God instead of the detour. When the waves of doubt, confusion, and conflict threaten to capsize my faith, I must anchor my heart in the truth that God is good, God is gracious God is great, and God is in control.
Second, we must continue doing what we know. We cannot anchor our trust in a feeling or in the emotion because those emotions change. Our decision to trust must lead us to continue in our duty to God.
I once heard someone say that there are two easy steps to fulfilling God’s will in your life daily:
- Step 1: Obey every command you find in Scripture to the best of your ability.
- Step 2: Obey every impulse of the Holy Spirit.
The best thing you can do when God is silent is to be still and know that He is God and keep doing what you know to be right.
Delight
It is not sufficient just to carry out our duties before God; it is crucial that we do so with the right affection and motives. I encourage you to read my post about affections to supplement this point.
Detours have a way of robbing your joy in serving Jesus. Trusting God simply involved a decision to do what’s right, but when we delight in Him we love doing what’s right.
We delight in bringing our needs to God. We delight in His presence in our lives. It is no longer a decision of duty, but a passionate desire to trust in and depend on God.
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” – Psalm 1:1-2
“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” – Psalm 34:8
I remember many times in my life that were times of great uncertainty. Leaving my “home” in Wyoming to move to California, following my parents to Romania as missionaries, working my way through Bible college, and preparing for marriage all came with periods of waiting, changed plans, and uncertain outcomes. In every case, God came through right on time, but only after I let go of my worries and returned to a position of trust and delight.
Commit
In Psalm 37:5, the word “commit” means “to roll onto.” It is essentially a picture of putting off a load or burden by rolling onto someone else.
When we worry about the future, we are essentially burdening ourselves with something we cannot control. The burden of our future was never ours to bear. God created us with the capacity to make wise choices that will certainly impact our futures, but the future belongs to God alone. He sees the end from the beginning, and He alone holds your future in His hands.
Make a conscious decision to roll the burden of your future onto the Lord. Worrying does not relieve you of burdens tomorrow. It only robs you of joy today.
Rest
Throughout the Bible, to rest was to cease from work. In a moment of faith and confidence, we may decide to trust, delight, and commit. This only becomes more difficult as time passes and we can’t see any change in our circumstance. We are then tempted to grab the steering wheel and take control again.
To rest in God is to decide not to pick up your worries again, despite how much time passes or how your circumstances continue to evolve. You’ve rolled the burden onto the Lord. You’re delighting in His work and trusting Him. Cease from your own efforts to manipulate or speed up the process. Just simply rest.
Wait
Time is on the side of those who would trust in God. God is in the business of doing great things, but only in His time. In order to experience God’s best in life, learn to be patient with His timing.
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. – Psalm 27:13-14
Detours are not always fun, but they are often needed. The destination is important but never neglect the wonderful process. God plans your detours, so learn to trust, delight, commit, rest, and wait.
With every detour, we have great reassurance in these words:
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” – Psalms 37:23
