“God will place the hot iron of His molding grace on the wrinkles of our souls when He needs to.”- Dr. Tony Evans
Dr. Tony Evans concludes Chapter 3 of Detours as he completes his discussion of detours and testing. He notes that Joseph could have blamed his brothers for selling him to the Ishmaelite slave traders. Yet, in time, Joseph saw God’s hand of guidance and direction. Reflecting on his journey to Egypt, Joseph said God brought Him there. He didn’t blame the hand of man.
Therefore, Dr. Evans notes, “if you . . . miss seeing what God is doing, you will miss the divine purpose of the detour. . . . So never think that just because it’s people you see that it isn’t God directing behind the scenes.”
However, our emotions yoyo up and own. Doubt = a default response to life’s trials. But God is a big God, able to handle our words. In those times we face feeling of doubt in the darkness of the deepest pit. Then we must remember God uses those tests and trials- even detours- to:
- help your unbelief and give you trust
- open your eyes to see spiritually beyond the physical
- show you what He wants to improve
In conclusion, Dr. Evans relates a true story of the loggerhead turtle. The average loggerhead turtle is thirty-five inches in length and weighs around 300 pounds. In this story, a female turtle climbed up on a sand dune to lay her eggs. After she did, she became disoriented and started walking away from the water. Rangers saw this. They put shackles on her, tied up her legs, and flipped her on her back
Next, they attached a chain to the shackles. Then they dragged her upside down back to the water with a four-wheeler. As Tony observes, the rangers jerked around and messed with the turtle. But the rangers did what was necessary to get her where she needed to go.
Like the loggerhead turtle, we feel jerked around and messed with when adversity hits. We yell in our hearts at God. However, Dr. Evans reminds us:
“God answers, often too quietly for us to hear over our own shouts, ‘I’m taking you exactly where you need to be. Trust Me.’ ”
Today’s question: How have you experienced the hot iron of His molding grace? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “How much of God comes out?”
