Detour...

Mark 5: 21-43 ( Jesus) said to her, "daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

Ever been traveling and come up on a "detour". I'm sure you have and we go, OH WHY??? They send you through some other route because the streets are torn up or impassible. The route to faith in God can be just as challenging to navigate. I sometimes think that i will find God in deep prayer and meditation, or in times of great joy, but sometimes those roads are closed off and inaccessible. Often I get to God through a route I had not planned, often a road that looks too treacherous to survive.

I receive emails each week from people who are hurting, they are alone, they have taken a detour. How do we get back on track when life takes a detour??

The woman who came to Jesus for healing wanted to get well, and surely she would have preferred to enounter God through more positive circumstances. WIth preferable routes closed to her, she found God amid her suffering. Instead of simply being cured of her disease, she found her soul and spirit healed so that she could "go in peace."

It's easy to think, when life goes well, that God is with us more fully, showing approval by the success we find. But that way of thinking is dangerous, as it implies that those who fall ill or experience tragedy are being punished by God. That is NOT true. The truth is that God remains with us in success and in failure, in good health and in illness. We may even find God more quickly when the road is closed.

What about you. Is there a road closed to you right now??? If so... seek God.