” . . . divine detours often get us where God wants us to go.”- Mark Batterson
“Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”- Exodus 14:13-14 (NIV)
Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 11 of The Circle Maker by noting we can get as angry as Balaam (Numbers 22) when we can’t get to where we want to go. We don’t welcome God’s divine detours. However, as Mark points out, the real miracle in Balaam’s story isn’t his talking donkey. The real miracle is God loving us enough to get in our way when we’re stubbornly trying to go the wrong way.
One component of praying hard is persisting in prayer when the answer we get isn’t the one we want, yet choosing to believe God has a better plan. Mark emphasizes the importance of praying for open as well as closed doors:
“Quite frankly, we love it when God opens doors for us! When God slams a door in our face? Not so much! But you can’t half-circle the promise. It’s a package deal. You can’t pray for open doors if you aren’t willing to accept closed doors, because one leads to the other.”
Mark states that God has us right where He wants us when we have no idea where to go or what to do. Trusting that God will fight our battles for us enables us to take our hands off the challenges we face and put those challenges in God’s hands.
Today’s question: Following your ministry downsizing or vocation loss, what divine detours have produced unexpected blessings? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Thinking long”
