Can you remember the worst road you have ever driven on? I think mine must have been a 15 mile stretch between Bujumbura and Rumonge in the east African nation of Burundi. Weather had worn out large sections of the road about every 200 yards. In between these massive potholes, we would speed up really fast, slow down really fast, then be violently jostled across the crater before repeating the process over and over again. At first, I was laughing, then not so much. I became frustrated not just because I was being thrown around in the car, but because I was ready to get to where we were supposed to be so our work could begin.
In many respects, my experience on that Burundian highway mirrors what I often expect in life – smooth highways, quick and easy journeys, and getting to my destination. Potholes, traffic jams, and wrong turns aren’t part of the plan. In fact, I usually avoid them at all costs. Yet, for just about all of us, these experiences are simply part of everyday life. God allows all kinds of unexpected detours and departures from our plan. They come in the form of being passed over for a job or needing to care for a loved one who has a serious health issue or a significant delay in God’s answer to our prayers. However, rather than growing frustrated by these challenges, the Lord wants us to view them as essential parts of our journey with him.
A Rocky Road
In 2010 I stepped away from my role with an urban ministry to pursue God’s “next” for me and my family. My wife, Kelly, and I had been praying and we believed the Lord was leading me back into service in the local church to be a Senior Pastor. Though it was a little scary, we were excited for what was ahead and had faith that the Lord would soon provide.
In those late months of 2009 and early months of 2010, I was having many conversations with pastoral search committees. It appeared that God’s call to be Senior Pastor of “ABC” Baptist Church was right around the corner. In fact, in February 2010, Kelly and I were invited to drive down to have a daylong meeting with the search committee of a First Baptist Church in a small town a couple hours south of Dallas. Though the people we met with were incredibly kind and offered me the opportunity to come preach in view of a call, Kelly and I just didn’t have peace the Lord was leading us to pastor there.
By May of 2010 it seemed like all the Senior Pastor positions for young pastors had run dry – at least for me. I was starting to get a little worried. Had I heard the Lord correctly about leaving my former ministry? Should I have taken the pastoral role in that small town? Though I was working odd jobs to bring in some money, I realized our savings would only last so long. Then, seemingly out of nowhere the Lord opened a door – but not the one we were expecting and not the one we would have chosen. I was invited by one of the academic leaders of a local seminary to come pursue my doctorate and to work on the staff of the seminary. After some discussion and prayer, we said, “yes” and Kelly and I with our one-year-old son moved to Fort Worth that July.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that though I appreciated my doctoral studies, I loathed my job. I had been given a role that wasn’t actually needed by the department. There was nothing for me to do. I often found myself wondering, what are you doing Lord? Is this some kind of punishment? Why have you led us here?
By November of 2010 I had become somewhat resigned to our new normal. I figured that I might as well settle in, complete my PhD, and see what the Lord had in store after that. However, one day I was looking on a online job board for an opportunity for Kelly and came across a post for the Missions Pastor of Pantego Bible Church. Missions Pastor seemed far from Senior Pastor, but there was something about the description of the position that interested me, and so I applied.
It’s been twelve years since I first started on the staff of Pantego Bible Church (now Central Bible Church). I am so thankful the Lord opened this door for my family and me. However, I am also thankful for that challenging period of life between late 2009 and early 2011. The Lord taught me so much about the way he leads us along the journey, but I believe three lessons were most important.
Lessons Learned on the Journey
- The Lord rarely leads us on a straight path.
We appreciate efficiency in travel. We drive the shortest route to get somewhere because it takes less time, expends less gas, and leads us around pesky backups and slowdowns. That’s why so many love the Waze app. It calculates the quickest route and will even recalculate if conditions change. Praise Jesus! However, if God’s had a “travel through life” app it might be called, “You’re Not Getting There as Quickly as You Thought.” You see the Lord is not as concerned with efficiency as we are. The path he leads us on is never the shortest distance between two points.
So, don’t be too surprised when there is an unexpected detour from your plan, or when you encounter multiple roadblocks in the direction you are confident the Lord is leading. Remember, “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3).
- The Lord is more concerned with our transformation than he is with arrival at our destination.
We’re all about getting “there,” wherever “there” might be – success, marriage, fulfillment, new career, better use of our lives, more influence, better pay. However, our Heavenly Father is far more interested in shaping our character along the way. That’s why he will allow all kinds of potholes, traffic jams, and “wrong” turns. James 1:2-4 is often quoted but rarely embraced: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, or you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” What would it look like for you to be joyful the next time God frustrates your plans and allows a series of speedbumps to slow your progress?
- Don’t lose hope.
It is easy for us to grow weary if we feel like life is just one pothole after another. Maybe we have seen all kinds of promises given to us in Scripture, but we feel like some of them aren’t being fulfilled before our eyes. In these situations, we can grow bitter and angry with God, particularly if we have been serving him faithfully and don’t feel like his favor has been directed towards us. When we reach this point, we need to call out to God for help, confess our struggle with brothers and sisters in Christ, and turn our eyes towards Jesus’ suffering (Hebrews 5:7-10; Hebrews 12:1-17). Then, we need to recall the faithfulness of God – how he came through so many times for his people in the Bible, but also how he has brought blessing to us throughout our lives.
They say hindsight is something closer to 20/20. As Kelly and I look back over that season of waiting on God, we can see how he used it to mold us more into the image of Christ. There is no doubt in our minds that the Holy Spirit was refining us, stripping away things we had relied upon and setting our identity more solely upon him alone. Even though we sometimes found ourselves discouraged by the “setbacks” of 2010, the Lord was always faithful to provide for our needs and to show his kindness in a multitude of ways. He also proved himself trustworthy to sanctify us. That season of our journey had been perfectly planned by our Father.
Left For Dead on the Side of the Road
I realize that some of you reading this article are experiencing something far worse than the potholes and traffic jams of life. You feel like you’ve been sideswiped by an 18-wheeler and left for dead on the side on the road. My description of a challenging season may even seem inconsequential compared to what you are enduring. Though I haven’t walked many days down the road you are facing, I know someone who has. When the Apostle Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, he had been doing ministry for about 9 years. In that time, he had experienced multiple beatings and imprisonments. Five times he had been scourged within an inch of his life (2 Corinthians 11:24). He had also endured many days where his body ached with hunger and thirst. He had experienced many nights in which his exposure to the cold left him unable to sleep (2 Corinthians 11:27).
In chapter 4 of 2 Corinthians, Paul writes something that needs to be heard by those who are experiencing significant hardship. He wrote, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). You see, when Paul looked at all the horrible things he had experienced, he knew that somehow the Lord was going to take them and use them in such a way that they increased Paul’s capacity to experience God’s glory in the life to come. By calling the afflictions of this life “light and momentary” Paul wasn’t discounting long, painful suffering. Rather, he knew that when compared to what they were preparing for the believer in eternity, they could only be labeled as “light and momentary.” And why could Paul be so confident? Because he had deeply meditated on the life and passion of Jesus and what the Old Testament prophets had declared about the Messiah’s extreme suffering and resulting glory (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). More suffering = more glory.
So, my brother or sister, as you journey through this life filled with potholes, traffic jams, “wrong” turns, and sometimes far worse, I encourage to keep your eyes set on Jesus. Remember that his life was filled with all kinds of “setbacks” and “detours” from a worldly perspective: loneliness, being misunderstood by his family, not having a home to call his own, ridicule from those who should have accepted him, false accusations, abandonment by his friends, and, ultimately, a criminal’s death. Not only can Jesus sympathize with every challenge we face, but by his Spirit he can also grant us power to endure them for his glory. When Paul was at his lowest, Jesus whispered these words: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).