DETOURS

But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you SOLD me here; for God SENT me before you to preserve life – Genesis 45:5

God can use DETOURS to get you to your Destiny! A detour is a long or roundabout route. The difference between a fulfilled person maximizing destiny and a person aimlessly checking off each day is often found in their views of life’s diverse experiences – the good, the bad, and the bitter. Learn to view the detours through the lens of purpose: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom.8:28). What you consider to be “detours” in life aren’t always detours in God’s Master Plan. Whatever path you have trod, God can and will use for good if you will let Him – as you learn how to move past your past.

The story of Joseph aptly illustrates how God can use detours in life to get you to your purpose. Though SOLD by men, he was actually SENT by God! Joseph was the eleventh son of twelve boys in the family of Jacob. His problems began as the father’s favourite (Gen. 37:3a). Jacob in fact, broadcasted his favoritism by giving Joseph a lavish coat of many colors, making his brothers very jealous. Moreover, Joseph had a dream that he shared with his brothers where they would one day bow down to him. Rather than sit around and wait for his dream to be fulfilled, the brothers decided to kill Joseph instead. However, one of them, Reuben, stood up for Joseph and intervened. He asked his brothers to fake Joseph’s death instead, by throwing him in a pit. They later sold Joseph to a traveling caravan as a slave.

Thus the detours of life began: left for dead by his brothers, lied about to his father, and sold as a slave to Midianite traders. In Egypt, as a slave to Potiphar, God began to bless Joseph: “the Lord was with him” and “the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand” (Gen. 39:3). Consequently he began to receive favor from his master, until he also caught the attention of his master’s wife (Gen. 39:6b). Refusing to succumb to her sexual advances and commit sin against God, he was falsely accused of rape and imprisoned. Joseph went to jail on a lie; yet in jail, “the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor” (Gen. 39:21). He was promoted to a position of responsibility within the jail. He didn’t sit, soak, and sour. Rather, he got busy doing the best he could with what he had, where he was.

When things get bitter and you feel you are on a detour, don’t ask: Why am I going through this? Rather, ask: Lord, how do You want to use this for Your purpose and for my destiny?  While in the prison, Joseph didn’t dwell on the detours. Rather, he interpreted the dreams of his fellow inmates. He asked the chief cupbearer, who had dreamed of a positive outcome, to remember him when he finally got out of jail. This inmate was set free and reinstated to his position, just as Joseph had said he would be. Yet he forgot all about Joseph, until Pharaoh also had a dream that needed to be interpreted (Gen.40:23). Pharaoh was so impressed that he said pronounced Joseph’s immediate elevation: “You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you” (Genesis 41:40).

From behind bars to the boardroom; from pit, through prison, to the palace, Joseph’s ugly experiences were transformed into good in the light of God’s perfect purpose. Though you might have endured bitter events in life – seeming diversions and detours from your destiny, they neither have the final say nor define who you are. Detours could be God’s pathways of purpose for the fulfilment of your destiny. Trust Him! He knows the way through the wilderness to the Promised Land.