[Steve Myers] Road closed ahead. Local traffic only. Proceed with caution. You've seen those signs when you've been driving down the road and all of a sudden, it's a detour. And you've gotta go a different direction. Well, life presents those same things for all of us. Yet God has a hand in leading us through those detours in our lives.

How does He do it? Well, one of the ways He does it is that along that new path, He teaches us. God teaches us along the way. When we allow God to work in our lives, He's always there. And the interesting thing is, there's this, I think, a principle you might say, what would be the easiest path isn't always the best path. And, of course, we know God knows everything. And so, think of a detour as you're driving. How are you gonna get where you wanna go? Well, if there's a detour, it's gonna prevent you, it seems, from getting down the road. But the fact is, the only way you're going to progress, the only way you're going to get where you wanna go is if you take the detour, and then you'll go forward. So the only way forward is really to experience that detour. And that way, you'll actually keep moving forward. Yeah, and sometimes it might be a step back before you can move ahead. That detour may reroute you in a backward way, but then eventually, you come out ahead.

And with God, it's one thing to recognize, as I'm doing that, there's something He wants me to learn. One of the Psalms is a good reminder of that. Psalm 32:7, it says this about God, it says, "You are my hiding place. You'll preserve me from trouble." You know, if I kept going and didn't follow the detour signs, I'd probably end up stuck, and so He's going to be there. It goes on to say, "You shall surround me with songs of deliverance." It also says, "I will instruct you," God says, "and teach you in the way you should go. I'll guide you with my eye."

You see, God never loses touch with us. He's there guiding us. He's there teaching us. What is He teaching us? Well, it could be a number of things. But certainly one of the most obvious is Follow Me. Life may be giving you a little bit of a winding roundabout way, but follow me and I'll be with you. And even though it may seem like you're taking a step back, we're going to make sure you end up on the progressive side of things."

So, next time you run into a challenge in life, as you're facing the difficulties ahead, pray, and ask God, "Well, God, what can I learn from this?" Don't forget to ask Him, "How can You strengthen me? Please continue to guide me and teach me more thoroughly Your way. God, how can I grow from this experience? Is there some way that I can be more like Jesus Christ as I follow Your direction?

In fact, God, is there a way that I can use this challenge in my life to help and serve others?" And when we see a detour in life, from that perspective, then we're seeing that God is leading us along the path and that He's going to teach us along the way.

That's BT Daily. We'll see you next time.