Daily Devotion Chat

The Detour That Saved Him Scripture

 Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)

 “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”

Good morning, friends.

Before the rest of the world wakes up and the noise of the day starts pulling you in ten different directions, I want to invite you to just sit a spell with me.

I’m sitting here with a hot cup of coffee, looking out across the pasture as the sun starts to crack the horizon, and I’ve been asking the Lord the same question I ask Him every morning: "Lord, what is it You want Your people to hear today?"

He put a story on my heart this morning. It’s about a cowboy named Luke Carson—a man who thought he had his day all mapped out, until the Good Lord stepped in and changed his direction to save his life.

Let me tell you about Luke.

Luke wasn’t the kind of man who liked changing his mind once it was made up. Most of us who work the land are the same way. When you make a living working cattle and fixing what’s broken, you learn to trust your gut and stick to your plan. If you say you’re going to be somewhere, you be there.

On this particular morning, Luke had a full day lined out. He was up well before dawn, boots laced and coffee finished while the house was still quiet. He stepped out into the cool air, that sharp smell of cedar and damp earth hitting him in the face. His horse, an old sorrel gelding named Jasper, was already at the gate, waiting. Jasper let out a soft nicker and stomped a hoof, knowing there was work to be done.

Luke had planned to ride the south ridge. He’d been putting it off for weeks, but he knew there was a stretch of fence line down there that needed patching before the calves started pushing against it. He saddled Jasper, tightened the cinch, and checked his saddlebags to make sure he had his pliers and wire.

Everything was set. The plan was solid.

But just as he grabbed the horn to mount up, something stopped him.

It wasn’t that he was scared. And it wasn’t that he forgot something back at the barn. It was just a check in his spirit—a heavy, undeniable tug in his gut that said, “Don’t go that way today.”

Luke stood there for a minute, one foot in the stirrup, looking toward that south ridge. The sky was clear, the wind was calm, and the trail was the same one he’d ridden a thousand times. There was absolutely no logical reason to change his mind.

But that tug wouldn’t let go.

He pulled his foot back and patted Jasper on the neck. He stood there in the quiet, wrestling with himself. Finally, he tipped his hat back and sighed. "Alright, Lord," he muttered out loud. "I don’t know why, and I don't really want to, but if You’re telling me no, then I’m not going."

He didn’t need a burning bush; he just needed to listen.

Instead of heading south, he turned Jasper toward the north pasture, deciding he might as well check the water tanks and clear some brush near the creek while he was out.

The rest of the morning was uneventful. It was slow, steady work—greasing a windmill that had been squealing, moving a few strays back to the herd, just regular chores. But the whole time he was riding, he kept wondering, Why in the world did God pull me away from that ridge?

He didn’t get his answer until late that afternoon.

He was back at the barn unsaddling Jasper when a neighbor’s pickup came tearing down the driveway, dust flying everywhere. The neighbor jumped out, looking pale as a ghost.

"Luke," he shouted, "You hear about the slide on the south ridge?"

Luke felt a knot form in his stomach. "No. What happened?"

"That big old cottonwood—the one that leans right over the narrow part of the trail—it finally gave up. Must have been rot in the trunk. It came down this morning, took half the hillside with it. It’s a mess of rock and timber down there. If anybody had been on that trail when it fell, they wouldn’t have stood a chance."

Luke didn’t say a word. He just leaned against his horse, feeling the weight of what almost happened.

He realized right then that God fights battles we never even see. He blocks paths we don't know are dead ends. He reroutes us to save our lives, not to ruin our plans.

Luke sat on the tailgate of that truck as the sun went down, letting the truth sink into his bones. If he had been stubborn… if he had ignored that quiet tug in his spirit… if he had insisted on "sticking to the plan," he wouldn't be coming home for supper that night.

That detour wasn’t an inconvenience, friends. It was protection. It was grace.

Here is the truth for us today.

Maybe God has been tugging on your reins lately. Maybe things aren't going the way you mapped them out. Maybe He’s closing doors you were trying to kick open, or canceling plans you were sure were right.

It’s frustrating, I know. But maybe, just maybe, He’s saving you from a heartache or a danger you can’t see yet.

Sometimes the "no" is mercy. Sometimes the delay is the very thing that keeps you safe.

You don’t have to understand the whole map. You just have to trust the Guide who sees farther down the trail than you do. His plans are better, His timing is perfect, and His protection is stronger than anything you could arrange on your own.

So, stay in the saddle. Trust the detour. And let Him hold the reins.

I’ll leave you with this thought to carry through your day: "When God turns your horse another direction, don’t fight the bit—He’s likely steering you away from a cliff you didn’t know was there."

Let’s Pray.

Father,

We thank You for being the God who sees around the corners and over the hills that we can’t see. Thank You for the quiet tugs in our spirit, for the closed gates, and for the detours that don’t always make sense to us in the moment.

Lord, forgive us for being stubborn. We confess that sometimes we fight the reins. We think we know the best way, and we get frustrated when our plans fall apart. Help us to trust that when You change our course, it’s because You love us.

Teach us to be sensitive to Your voice. Give us the courage to follow where You lead, even when it looks like the long way around. Protect us from the dangers we don’t know are coming, and guide our steps on solid ground.

Thank You for holding our lives in Your steady hands.

In Jesus’ mighty name we pray, Amen.