Divine Detours – Dr. Hona Amer

Scripture:

“Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn’t see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home’.” Luke 19:1-5 (MSG)

Perspective:

Have you ever gotten up for the day and a hour later wished that you could have a do-over? Maybe everything went wrong before you even walked out the door for work. Most days, we don’t get the luxury of a do-over but have to determine our attitude outside of our circumstances.

When Zacchaeus was trying to see Jesus, he had an obstacle to overcome. He knew that his short stature was not going to play in his favor as the crowds of people pressed in to see Jesus. He probably didn’t have climbing a tree on his agenda for the day either. He had to take into consideration his status, position, and wealth. Zacchaeus assessed the situation and decided to run ahead of the crowd. Before him stood a tree. Was he willing to let go of his pride and climb the tree? Climbing a tree to see Jesus would seem like a detour. Yet, Zacchaeus’ detour placed him in the exact location where Jesus could see him. What seemed to be an obstacle was only a detour on the way to his destiny. In the same way, we can view obstacles in our lives as a roadblock or a detour. Roadblocks can cause us to quit, but detours keep us moving. If we are following God, He tends to craft the “detours” in our lives into His overall plan. Maybe today you are living your plan B for your life in some area. Instead of letting the detour dictate your faith or attitude, maybe you are just climbing a tree like Zacchaeus so that you can see Jesus more clearly.