The Detours of Life

"And we know that all things work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

[This simple message has been used in tract form for
more than thirty years. Thousands of copies have been
given out. Many excellent testimonies have come to us.
Perhaps you are traveling a detour at this time - here
is a message for you.]

There are many spiritual lessons which we can all get
from this business of traveling; for example, arriving
at crossroads reminds us of the daily necessity of
making decisions. Again, we have the lesson of
following a road map which reminds us of the
Christian's guide book, the Bible. But, I believe that
the strongest lesson we can learn from traveling on the
highways of our great nation is this: The highway of
life can't always be straight and smooth. There must be
hills, there must be rough spots, and there must be
occasional detours.

We have all had the experience of traveling along a
beautiful highway and suddenly being confronted with a
large sign saying, "Highway Closed. Follow Detour
Signs." And by following the detour signs, we are
brought again to the smooth highway.

Life is very much like that. Perhaps for months or
years we go along and encounter very little trouble,
but suddenly we are confronted with a detour. It may be
one of sorrow, of loneliness, of illness and
affliction, or of grave disappointments. May we notice
some lessons about detours:


1. DETOURS APPEAR SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT WARNING

We are not always prepared with information to fortify
us against the coming detour. In the long run, it may
be better for us if we do not know all of the
difficulties that lie ahead, for if we did know, every
part of the trip would be spoiled by the anticipation
of trouble. In life, how suddenly appear the detours!
One day you are perfectly well, but the next day you
are lying in a hospital. One day your home is intact,
and the next day death has taken a loved one from you.
Certainly we all know that trouble and sorrow are
coming to us, but we do not know the moment or the day
they will appear.


2. SELDOM DO WE KNOW THE LENGTH OF THE DETOUR

When the highway sign points out a detour, you take it
without knowing how long it is going to be. When life's
detours appear, we do not now how long we will have to
suffer, but we are hopeful at any moment to come back
to the main highway.


3. MOST DETOURS ARE ROUGH AND WINDING

I don't believe I have ever seen a good detour road.
They always take you out of your way, delay your
arrival at your destination, and must always be
traveled slowly and carefully. Likewise are the detours
of life. They require great patience for their
traversing,


4. A DETOUR MAY HAVE ITS GOOD POINTS

I have found in my experience as a traveler that
sometimes the most beautiful scenery is found on the
detour road. Over hills and through valleys we see the
beauties of nature unmolested by billboards, telling us
to eat at a certain wayside restaruant or to drink a
certain brand of beer, and so it is that the bypath
which you are now traveling may bring you the greatest
spiritual blessings of your life.

5. A DETOUR ALWAYS LEADS TO AN APPRECIATION OF THE GOOD
HIGHWAY

Can you remember even now your great relief when you 
bounced over the last few yards of a rough and rugged
detour road and came once more back to the smooth
highway? Getting back on the main road you said, "This
is more like it. That surely was a tough detour." In
the realm of living, the dark days lead to an
appreciation of the bright ones. If every day were
filled witn sunshine, we would soon lose our
appreciation of it. The folks who live in Miami and St.
Petersburg, Florida, do not appreciate sunshine nearly
as much as we in Chattanooga. During the winter season
we have many dark and dreary days, and when the
sunshine bursts through the clouds, we all rejoice.
Trouble, sorrow, or affliction are never enjoyed, but
they do help us to take full advantage of the good days
which the Lord gives us.

6. ON A DETOUR YOU DRIVE MORE OR LESS BY FAITH

The detour road is one that you have not traveled
before, therefore, you must follow the signs which
promise to bring you back on the regular highway, and
here is the place for us to quote again Romans 8:28:

"And we know that all things work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose."

We have this promise of God in the time of trouble that
He is going to work out everything for our good; not
for our pleasure or prosperity or popularity, but for
our good.

[And now let us see what attitude we shall take toward
the detours of life.]

A. YOU CAN TURN AROUND AND GO BACK

Some weak, cowardly people take this way out of
difficulty. In the Chattanooga paper of January 5, we
find an illustration of this. In Reading, Pennsylvania,
a woman and her husband and two sisters committed
suicide because of ill health. Quoting from the
article, "All gas jets in the kitchen range were found
open. The bodies all fully clad, lay in a perfect row,
heads resting on cushions." Dr. Stark said a note left
by one person indicated that the deaths were a
quadruple suicide pact. Surely here is an illustration
of those who turn coward and take the cowardly way out
of their  troubles.


B. YOU CAN TAKE THE DETOUR AND GRUMBLE AND COMPLAIN
ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME

There are many folks who do this. They press on through
their troubles, but they are always growling and
complaining. Such are the folks who are forever telling
about their operations and about the constant pain
which they suffer, and about the failure of others to
understand their plight. As a result of this
complaining attitude their condition is made worse.
Their own troubles are intensified and they lose the
friendship and sympathy of others.


C. YOU CAN ACCEPT THE DETOURS OF LIFE IN GOOD CHEER AND
IN THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD JESUS

The  apostle Paul adopted such an attitude. Personally,
I believe that Paul suffered severe bodily pain. I
believe that all of his missionary endeavors were done
in spite of an ailing body, and yet the great apostle
wrote the major portion of the New Testament and did
not one time tell us of  his trouble. Thank God, for
cheerful sufferers who say, "I do not understand it
all, but I love God and trust Him completely."

 - Pause a while, Christian friend, and let God speak
to you.


Perhaps now you are traveling on the detour of sorrow.
Maybe death has entered your home and taken away a
loved one. The tears come easily to your eyes and you
feel the sun has gone down for you. Listen to Jesus,
the Man of Sorrows.

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God,
believe also in me. "In my Father's house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I
go to prepare a place for you. "And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

Sorrow will last for the night, but morning cometh when
you will meet both toour loved ones and the Lord Jesus


 - Are you traveling on the detour of loneliness?

Sometimes we do find ourselves completely left alone.
We do not have close friends and our loved ones are far
away from us. And again, sometimes friends and loved
ones are  nearby, but they do not understand our needs
and desires. The Christian who has definite convictions
must ofter stand alone. The battle-scarred apostle Paul
said, "No man stood with me, but all men forsook me."
Let me help you if your life is following a lonely
path. It is human to stand alone. It is man-like to
follow the people, to drift with the people, to follow
the tide - it is God-like to follow a principle - to
stem the tide. Remember this - truth has been out of
fashion since man changed his robe of fadeless light
for a garment of  faded leaves. Yes, you may feel
yourself one of the earth's loneliest creatures, but if
you are a child of God, then you have the promise of
the presence of Jesus. This is His promise to obedient
followers:

". . . lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of
the world. Amen."

Someone asked David Livingston, the great missionary
explorer, which verse in the Bible meant most to him,
and without hesitation he said, " lo, I am with you
alway. . ." Pause for just a moment and recognize the
presence of Him who stands by you.


 - Detours of ilness and affliction, are they yours?

The mystery of human suffering is always before us.
Hardly a day goes by that I do not hear some person
say, "I wonder why I suffr so mucy." I whsh, my friend,
I could give you a definite and personal answer, but I
cannot. I can only suggest that you remember that this
world is one of sin and sorrow, sickness and death, and
as long as the devil is abroad in the world, we are
going have illness and affliction. But for you,
suffering one, there is also a blessed promise. It was
given to Paul, and it is for your comfort:

"And he said unto me My grace is sufficient for thee:
for my strength is made perfect in weakness. . ." - 2
Corinthians 12:9


 - In the last place, there are detours of
disappointment.

No one in life is free form this detour. We are
disappointed in others. We are disappointed in the
failure of our plans. We are disappointed in ourselves.
There must be a constant battle against this foe, or we
will find ourselves growing bitter and cynical. In the
face of disappointment, we must smile, keep sweet, and
trust God. My life is not all I would have it to be. I
am ofttimes disappointed regarding circumstances and
people, but in it all, I am keenly aware of God's love
and grace. Even disappointment has a redeeming feature,
for when I am disappointed in myself and in others, I
lean more heavily upon God, for our God is One who
never fails or disappoints His children. And now in
full faith let us repeat together:

"And we know that all things work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called
according to is purpose."