Detours are a part of God’s plan. They exist for the purpose of developing us for our destiny. God has to prepare us for the
destiny and prepare the destiny for us! Joseph’s story in the Bible is a wonderful illustration of this principle. He came out of a
bad family situation that occurred both because of the evil of others and his own immaturity. God had to allow a scenario that
would move Joseph out of one situation and into another. While it was painful, Joseph’s journey was necessary if he was ever
going to realize his destiny.
The problem for most of us is that we don’t like the detours. Detours are inconvenient, longer than we would like,
uncomfortable, and sometimes very painful. But detours are also necessary. Joseph is not the only one in scripture to have
experienced a detour. Moses, Abraham, Paul, and the nation of Israel also had detours, and we can be encouraged that what
looks like a problem can actually be used by God to bring about His perfect plan.
While there are many things about our detours we cannot control, there are a few things we can definitely affect. We have the
ability to control our perspective by choosing to look at where God is taking us to, not where He’s taking us from. We can also
remember how we respond to the detour can determine how long we stay on that detour.
A bad past doesn’t have to deny you your destiny. You must look at the things that happened to you in believing faith of God’s
divine purposes, even if it is painful. Joseph winds up in a pit - a deep hole in which he couldn’t climb out. But little did he
know that the pit was a part of God’s plan. Joseph’s story should give YOU hope. God has a DESTINY for you!