THE BROKEN ROAD

Not too long ago I fell in love with a song by Rascal Flats called “God Bless the Broken Road”. This beautiful song tells the tale of a man who upon finding love reflects on all of the broken relationships of his past. Those heartbreaks of his past became the “broken road” leading to his true love. Here are some of the lyrics:

I set out on a narrow way many years ago,
Hoping I could find true love along the broken road.
But I got lost a time or two,
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through.
I couldn’t see how every sign pointed straight to you.

Every long lost dream led me to where you are.
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars,
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms.
This much I know is true – that God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you.

A few months ago, I imagined myself singing this song to the man I would marry. But as I reflect on it today, I realize I should be singing this song to Christ. All the pain of my past – the heartbreaks, the failures, the mistakes – all that brokenness of my life has created a path that led directly to Jesus. God called to me during my lowest period – He loved me and used my pain to restore my hope in Him.

In Philippians 3:13b-14, Paul writes, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” That sounds great, right? But we all know how difficult that can be.

If you’re a visual person like me, I imagine the path that leads to Christ is much like a mosaic portrait (see picture below). A mosaic is a picture made up of small pieces of broken stone, glass, or tile. Individually, those pieces aren’t worth much and may even bring harm to someone holding them. But when pieced together, they create a beautiful and often expensive piece of art. Think of your life as a mosaic – all those broken pieces of your life, all those hurt places, those places you’d like to forget – instead of trying to hide them, think instead of how God can piece those together and make a beautiful, very worthwhile life.

*Image courtesy of Yahoo Images

RECALCULATE YOUR ROUTE

A few weeks ago I ventured to a new part of town for lunch. I am horrible with directions so I plugged the address of my destination into the GPS and took off. As I traveled, the GPS showed me step by step directions as well as the amount of time if would take me to get there. As I drove, the GPS told me about 30 seconds before I had to make a turn so I knew it was coming up and I could get ready for it. Fortunately, I made it safely to the restaurant and enjoyed my meal. When it was time to go back to work, I followed the same procedure: I plugged my job’s address into the GPS before driving off. But on the way back, I ran into some construction. The GPS told me to make a right turn but the road was blocked so I had to keep going straight. I was a little nervous because as I said before, I’m horrible with directions and I didn’t want to get lost and make it back to work late. But, thank goodness for the GPS – as I continued straight on the road, a message came up that said “Recalculating”. It was working out a new route for me to take. See, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is programmed so that if the driver deviates from the original route, it will recalculate the route to make sure the driver still gets to their destination. So whether I miss a turn, can’t make a turn because of construction, or am forced to make a detour, the GPS recalculates itself so I make it to where I’m going. As long as my GPS is functioning, it’s virtually impossible for me to get lost.

Just like the GPS, God has to recalculate our routes from time to time due to detours, wrong turns, or missed turns.

A detour is a temporary deviated route when the main way is closed – this is something you don’t have any control over. For example, Betty planned to go to school to earn her master’s degree in education. The program typically takes 2 years to complete. However, her mother fell ill and she had to drop down to part time status, thereby prolonging the program.

A wrong or a missed turn, on the other hand, is a situation where something or someone distracts you so that you focus on the distraction and make a crucial misstep or miss a crucial step towards your destination. For example, Mark devised a plan to buy a home within the next year. He wrote out a budget and figured out how much he needed to save each month to reach his goal. Three months into his plan, a new casino opened up down the street and he ventured out one night to give it a try. By the end of the year, he’d gambled away all of his savings – thereby missing the opportunity to purchase a home.

The good news is that God can recalculate Betty’s & Mark’s routes provided they consult their GPS – God’s Positioning System (the WORD) – to get back onto track. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

It is impossible to get lost as long as we are consulting God’s Word and following His directions for life.