When You Feel Stuck

High Street in Oxford has been closed for what feels like for-ever. In our little college town this happens to be the road we use to access all the stores, eateries, and most critically, our coffee shop, Kofenya. 

I’m not sure what they’re doing to the road, but a myriad of construction workers, vehicles, and loud machines appear daily tending to their work. The two major intersections accessing High Street are closed and have been for months. Still, every few days I glance at the barricades in hopes the work will be complete and the way clear. Until then I’ve had to discover alternate routes, go over and around to get where I need to go. Because it’s evident–I can’t go that way.

Roadblocks aren’t reserved for streets. They also pop up in our lives. 

An injury occurs and we can’t move the way we want to, can’t do things the way we’re used to doing them. A pandemic hits and almost overnight all our work and social interactions move to Zoom. A relationship, contract, or season of life ends and we have to reroute the ways we maneuver through our days. We’re waiting for the job offer, school acceptance, lease expiration, or insurance check before we can take the next step, but it’s taking forever. 

It can be inconvenient or downright devastating when we can’t go where and when we want to.

But God has an amazing route planned for us—for you and me. And when we follow Him, He’ll help us maneuver detours, grow and mature during delays, and be right by our sides, helping us get where we need to go. 

King David proclaims in Psalm 16:5: “Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.”

Life in God’s kingdom will be secure. When we focus on Jesus, He keeps us steady, so the detour doesn’t do us in. Life with Jesus is a life full of joy, peace, and redemption. But life in this broken world will present pain, sorrow, and hardships that often feel like roadblocks. As Christians, we live in both God’s kingdom and planet earth at the same time. Thankfully, our God wants goodness for us. He guides us around the cones and through the detours.  

David continues in verses 11–12: “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

I’m going to be honest. I know this, but sometimes, in the midst of a detour, I forget. I lose my way.

When the guy I thought I would marry broke up with me.

When the publisher I’d written three novels for stopped publishing fiction.

When I had a miscarriage.

I felt blocked in all those scenarios. I was hurt, sad, and confused. But God was faithful. He stood by my side and kept me going. He was my portion and my cup. I didn’t have everything I wanted. The road I wanted to travel was boarded up. But I had Jesus. He helped me maneuver through. He brought me back out the other side of those roadblocks. He helped me find joy and hope and peace. He was all I needed.

When the pandemic hit and my four kids were sent home from school to do online learning, they were disoriented and devastated. The two older kids were sent away from their college campuses, their homes away from home, and their communities. Major roadblock!

But God was so good, so present, and offered so many pleasures during that season. God gave our whole family one another. The kids couldn’t play sports, grab coffee, or watch movies with friends. But we had countless family game and movie nights. The kids played street soccer against each other for hours and sat on the porch sipping coffee and chatting. We had church on the couch on Sunday mornings, all singing and praising Jesus together with the accompaniment of my son’s guitar. It wasn’t the way we’d planned or envisioned, but God held us through the roadblock of the pandemic, providing joy. 

Psalm 16 also tells us, “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.” (v. 6).

It’s hard when the barricades go up. When it feels like a barbed wire fence we can’t get through. It can be frustrating, disappointing, and confusing. 

Some days we reroute, do our thing, and keep going. 

Others, we feel frozen. But none of it surprises God. He is on the move repairing this, resurfacing that, adding a lane here and a new stop sign on that corner over there for everyone’s safety. He’s setting beautiful boundaries, not to trap us in, but to guide and protect us. He’s keeping us close, so we can discover the pleasure of traveling along His abundant path of life.

Wherever you’re going today, no matter how easy or how hard it seems to travel there, don’t be discouraged. God has a lovely route mapped out for you—it may be a detour or the scenic route. Or maybe you’ll have to get out of your car and ride your bike along the bike path, but as long as you’re listening to Jesus, He’ll stay by your side and help steer you down the absolute best path.

–Written by Laura L. Smith. Used by permission from the author. Click here to connect with Laura.

Check out Laura’s new book Restore My Soul: The Power and Promise of 30 Psalms that released July 5, 2022!

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