.....detours

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps Proverbs 16:9

Travelers boarded a short flight from Detroit to Chicago, expecting a quick, uneventful trip. But after an hour of circling Chicago due to heavy fog, the flight still hadn’t landed. Two hours in, the captain announced they were preparing for descent. Passengers sighed with relief, glad the wait was over.

Then came the announcement from the flight attendant: “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to Chicago’s O’Hare Field. That’s what I would like to do. Unfortunately, we’re in Indianapolis.”

We’ve all been there, haven’t we? We thought we knew where we were going. We mapped it out, made the right decisions, followed the plan. But when we finally “landed,” we found ourselves somewhere unexpected, wondering, “How did I end up here?”

Maybe it was a job opportunity that turned into a dead end. A relationship that unexpectedly ended. A dream that was delayed — or never materialized at all. A diagnosis that changed everything. It’s confusing. Disorienting. But Solomon reminds us in Proverbs 16:9, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.”

It’s not wrong to dream or prepare -- but we have to remember that God is the one flying the plane. Sometimes, he changes our course not to punish us, but to protect us, grow us, or position us for something better.

You may feel like you’ve landed in the wrong place, but God knows exactly where you are. He’s not surprised. In fact, he may have brought you here on purpose. What looks like a detour might be divine direction. What feels like a delay might be where God is doing his deepest work in you.

So if you’ve landed somewhere unexpected, take heart. God can work in Indianapolis just as well as Chicago. Ask God what he wants to show you in this place. He hasn’t abandoned you. He hasn’t misrouted your life. He’s still in control. And even when the landing doesn’t go the way you planned, you’re still in God’s hands.

- alan smith

Father, thank you for guiding my steps, even when the journey doesn’t look like what I expected. Help me to trust you when life feels off course. Teach me to be faithful where I am, knowing that you are always with me — even in the unexpected places. In Jesus’ name, amen.