The sign flashed: Construction Ahead! Expect Delays! We’ve all seen these signs. We groan. Regardless of our plans for the day, we hate being slowed down, stopped, or rerouted for construction.
Yet our lives are always under construction, filled with delays and detours. Usually there’s no flashing sign to warn us. April means grade twelve students are making decisions about university, or job choices or travel. They may plan to work for a year and save for their schooling. A local company offers the perfect job. They apply. Someone else is hired. That’s a big detour.
We work hard for the same company for seven years. Instead of a promotion, we receive a pink slip. The company closes down. We’re out of work. That’s a full stop.
We’ve exercised, eaten well, done all the right things and still the doctor tells us that cancer is lurking in our body. That’s more than a slow down.
We plan our lives. Then the delays, full stops, detours set in. The writer from Proverbs 16:1-3,9 offers advice for our journey. “In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” I take from this verse that when we make plans, we must remember that God is on this journey with us. God may have something much better in store for us.
God does not cause the delays or detours, but when they happen, God is not defeated. God walks with us, offering alternatives, new ideas, different paths. When we lean on God rather than our own understanding, we open ourselves to whatever God’s Spirit is doing within our lives. We can trust that God will use what’s happening to bring us new life and unexpected joy. All will be well.
Today’s Faith by Rev. Janet Stobie
