God Has A Plan For You – Even In A Traffic Jam

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(1) But now, this is what the Lord says— He who created you, Jacob, He who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. (2)  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”’ (Isaiah 43:1-2)

A year or so ago, we drove up to Virginia to spend a week with our son and his family. The drive up and the week with our grandkids was fun but uneventful. However, the drive back to Florida… We left our hotel early in the morning, and we were making great time through Virginia and North Carolina, and well into South Carolina going down I-95.  We thought we were getting home around 9PM based on how well the traffic was flowing. 

Then we got to the I-26 interchange in the middle of South Carolina, and immediately there was a sudden stop in traffic on I-95.  Stop & go, stop & go for about an hour, then it opened up – until mile marker 25, then the traffic stopped – and didn’t ‘go’, per se.  For the next hour, we got to mile marker 10, and with only 10 miles to go to get to Georgia we had enough.  We pulled off, got a hotel room and figured the traffic should lighten up by next morning.

We left early the next morning, and sure enough, the traffic was now flowing, and we were moving smoothly through Georgia and northern Florida, down I-95, then I-10, and I-75.  But midway down at Ocala – all stop!  It was stop & go again through the Ocala area, down to the Villages, before it opened up before the Turnpike exit.  OK, a little blip but things looked good to go.  Nope!  We got to Sarasota, and found people do not like to go through construction zones and so we again came to a standstill.  An hour later, we finally got past Sarasota and finally – finally – made it home to North Port by the early evening, a bit frazzled but safe.

Now this is not to make sitting in a traffic jam the equivalent of any major disasters they could befall us, but let’s face it – the most critical and stressful situation is the one that you are current facing now.  The past is over and the future is unknown, but the present is what we face at the ‘now’.  The stress in the event you are in, like being in a traffic jam, goes up; you want to get home, there are things you have planned, but someone waaaaaaay in front of you (by several miles and many cars in-between) with dubious driving skills can’t ignore the orange barrels or the mounds of dirt and has to come to a stop to admire them – on the interstate, no less.  ‘Why’ is irrelevant, and so are you (and the others) sitting in the traffic jam. 

God’s plan has not changed, however, though yours has.  God’s plan actually placed you in the middle of this jam.  God’s plan may have been to prevent you from getting further down the road; for you to stop and to witness and encourage someone else, or to just avoid another problem later.  In South Carolina, I quietly prayed for the Lord to provide an answer on whether to stay in the jam or to go in a different direction – and there was the sign for a new hotel off the next exit.  The hotel manager on duty was stressed, but when it was my turn to check in, I chatted with him and tried to lift his spirits; I believe I did if even for a few minutes.  God does not want us to stress, but to rely on Him to take the load of the stress off us and to do His purpose.    

There are other times, like in Sarasota, where He wants us to persevere and keep moving forward through the stress, to allow Him to provide His strength so we can move forward and get through that which is occurring ‘now’.  To come through and get to the other side of the storm (or jam) is satisfying, especially relying on God’s strength.  Floods will come and go; fires will rise and be quenched; traffic will come to a standstill then open back up to speed.  Rely on God to provide His wisdom and strength when necessary!