Detours and Delays

An Olympic runner is on track, literally, for a dazzling

future. Louis "Louis" Zamperini goes from a rough childhood to

the 1936 Berlin Olympics, dreaming of medals and records.

His plan is simple: train hard, win races, and maybe become the

first man to break the four-minute mile. Then, WWII

interrupts everything. Louis becomes an airman, his plane

crashes into the Pacific, and then he spends 47 days on a life

raft, sharks circling and sun beating down, with no guarantee

of rescue. When help finally comes, it's the wrong kind. He's

captured and thrown into brutal Japanese prison camps for more

than two years. The athlete with big dreams is now starving,

beaten, and forgotten. If God is good, why this detour? How could

anything possibly come out of a story like that?

Maybe you had a picture in your mind of how life would go—the

career path and the marriage, kids, the ministry, and the

retirement, and then something hit. Could be a diagnosis, a

layoff, a closed door, a betrayal, or maybe a move you

didn't want. Suddenly, you're not on the road you planned.

You're somewhere you never expected to be, and wondering,

Lord, how could this possibly fit into anything good? Today's

verse, Genesis 50-20, records Joseph of the Old Testament's

words to his brothers, the same brothers who had sold him into

slavery years before. Here's what he says to them. You

intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He

brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many

people. Joseph didn't say what his brothers did was good,

because it wasn't. The betrayal, and the slavery, the false

accusations, the prison—that was real evil, and it was very,

very painful. But standing on the far side of the story,

Joseph could see something he couldn't see while he was in the

middle. God had been at work the whole time, weaving even those

dark chapters into a larger purpose. Please don't miss that,

because a lot of us live most of our lives in the middle of the

story, not at the end. In the middle, it just feels like loss.

The dream job didn't happen. The relationship ended. Or the door

closed. Maybe the doctor called. The timing feels off. The route

is nothing like what you asked God for. If that's where you are,

I want you to notice two words in Joseph's sentence. You

intended and God intended. On one side, there are people's

choices, the brokenness of the world, and even sometimes

outright evil.

And on the other side, there is a God who is so wise and so

sovereign that he can take even what was meant for harm and

intended for good. Now, he doesn't call evil good. He

doesn't enjoy your pain, but he refuses to waste it. You see

that in Jesus' story also. The cross was the worst act of

injustice in history, and at the very same time, the place where

God accomplished the greatest good. Human beings meant it for

harm. God meant it for salvation. So what do you do when you're

not at Genesis 50 yet? When you don't see the so-that of your

suffering, and you just feel the weight of the detour. You do

what Joseph did along the way. You stay faithful right where

you are. In Potiphar's house, in prison, in the forgotten places.

You keep trusting that God is still writing even when the

chapter you're in. Doesn't it make sense? After the war, Louis

Zamperini is consumed by nightmares, rage, and alcoholism.

Until his wife drags him to a Billy Graham crusade in 1949.

There, Louis surrenders his life to Christ. The man who once

vowed revenge eventually travels back to Japan to forgive many of

his former guards face to face. His story, told in the book and

film, Unbroken, has pointed countless people to the power of

grace and forgiveness. None of the abuse or evil was good, but

God wove even those detours into a bigger purpose, reaching far

more people than a gold medal ever could. What others intended

for harm... God used for good. God used for good. He didn't do

it by erasing the past, but by redeeming it. And that's the

hope for you too. You may not see the whole tapestry yet.

You're staring at the back of it with all the knots and loose

threads. But on the other side, God is weaving something that

will one day make sense in his presence. Right now, your detour

might look like a job you didn't choose. Or a season of

singleness you didn't expect. Or a health struggle that slowed

you down. You don't have to pretend it isn't painful. And

you don't have to slap a quick, It's all good! on top of real

grief. But you can say by faith, Lord, I don't see it yet, but I

believe you can intend this for good. Here's today's challenge.

Think of one detour or delay in your life that still stings. It

could have been a door that closed or a plan that didn't

happen. And then, name it honestly to God. Then, in your

own words, pray something like, Father, I don't understand this

part of my story, but I'm asking you to do what you did for

Joseph, to weave even this into your purposes. Help me be

faithful where I am while I wait to see what you're doing. Lord,

you see every person listening who feels like their life is off

track. Thank you that you are the same God who took Joseph's

pain and woven into a rescue plan. The same God who redeemed

the cross itself. We bring you our detours and delays today.

Strengthen our faith and trust that you are still writing, even

when we don't see the ending yet. Use even those chapters for our

good and your glory. In Jesus' name, amen. Would you please

share this episode with someone who might need to hear this? The

link is in the show notes. Thank you for joining me today on

Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. Remember, even when your plans

fall apart, God's purposes do not. Come back next time for

more encouragement to help you live grounded in God's truth.

Until then, God bless and have a great day.