Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64had enough knowledge to pass the test without having to do the work. In this case, they took a test and if they scored high enough, they could skip the rest of the course. I never “tested out” of a course, but I know people who did. Most of us have to go through the learning process—unfortunately, some of us more often than others—in order to gain mastery over what we need to know. God is not going to bring your destiny to fruition until He knows you are able to handle it spiritually, emotionally, and physically. If you can- not handle it, you will lose it rather than use it, for His glory. That is why He focuses so intently on our development as He takes us to our destiny. When you look at Scripture, it is full of destinies being reached by detour. When God told Israel He would take them to their destiny in Canaan, they had to cross the Red Sea in order to get there. However, He didn’t take them directly to the Red Sea. Rather, He took them down south and then brought them back up before He led them across the Red Sea. In fact, because they had not yet developed in their level of faith that they needed in order to conquer the enemy in the Promised Land, they wound up wandering on a 40-year detour before ever reaching their destiny. Abraham was on a 25-year detour. At one point God had told him His plan for him—that He would bless nations through Abraham and make his name great. How could Abraham have thought at that time it would be 25 years before he would have a son? The vision and the proclamation from God to Abraham were real and vivid. It would have been odd for Abraham to believe at that point that it would be nearly three decades before he would witness the literal birth of it. When we give a plan or projection to someone, we typically do so shortly before we plan to carry it out. Yet God is not like us and will often give us a glimpse of our destiny long before we are pre- pared to actualize it, as He did when He told Abraham that there would be a 400-year detour in Egypt before they would reach their promised destination (Genesis 15:12–16). The greatest apostle in the New Testament, Paul, went on a three-year detour to a desert where God removed him from the front page of culture and life in order to strengthen him, teach him, and develop him for his calling. I could go on and on with biblical examples of detours, but I think you get the picture. Detours are often a regular part of God’s plan in guiding us to our destinies. God has a destiny for you. He has a purpose and a place He wants you to live out. But it may not happen tomorrow. You probably won’t get there by going in a straight line. Patience is the pri- mary virtue needed in order to reach your destiny. The following is a passage speaking on “trials,” but we can easily substitute the word affliction with detours and arrive at the same intended meaning: “And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions [detours], because we know that affliction [detours] produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint” (Romans 5:3–5). Hope does not disappoint. Detours disappoint momentarily. But when we allow them to produce hope, God promises that hope will not disappoint. And in order to arrive at an authentic hope in your spirit, accepting your detours is necessary. Just as your muscles will not grow stronger simply by wishful thinking, the painful process of strengthening your hope comes by detours, afflictions, and trials. Show me someone with an indomitable hope, and we will see someone who has had his or her share of detours. I promise you this is true. Authentic hope is a learned trait. Ĩ 30 WWW.AGRM.ORG MARCH/APRIL 2017 Hope does not disappoint. Detours disappoint momentarily. But when we allow them to produce hope, God promises that hope will not disappoint.