Broken Road

“I will walk by faith even when I cannot see because this broken road prepares Your will for me” ~ Jeremy Camp from the song Walk by Faith on the 2002 album Stay.

If I told you this song has ministered to me in difficult times over the last 20+ years, it would be a severe understatement. After many years, I ran across it again buried deep in my iTunes library. It spoke even more to me after looking back to see the broken road Jesus led me down so long ago.

You may have just started the journey down your broken road recently. Some of you may have been on it for so many miles you wonder if you will ever see the end of it.

If you drive long enough, you run into a detour. Hopefully, you see the signs before you crash through the barricades meant to keep you from plunging over the edge where the bridge is out. The bridge (marriage) collapsed. It is no longer there. Now what?

The barricades protected you from plunging off the cliff head first towards the rocks. Now you see there is only one way to go. The road doesn’t look like one you want to travel on, but it is the only way to continue on your journey.

After realizing there is no way you can move forward at this location you see something…. a detour sign.

We can sit and stare at the fallen bridge or we can take the detour that has been provided. Someone had to have placed the signs out to guide you around the disaster that you see.

As you pray the car (life) you are driving will make it, you start to wonder —

How do I move forward? How long is this road? Will I ever get where I am going? Will I run out of gas? Will there be a place along the road to use the restroom, refuel, and get something to eat and rest? Is it safe? Why am I on this roadway? Am I really supposed to be going this direction? Should I go back? Is the map wrong?

Since you have no other option now, you need to trust the signs provided to get you where you need to go. You need to have faith in the sign placer. The signs are there to lead you and guide you.

Some roads look fine when you start down them but may eventually turn into a narrow one lane road full of potholes, carcasses of roadkill along the edge of the ditch, and just no end in sight. I have been on that road. Twice.

You might be tempted to go off-roading, looking for a short cut. Trust me. You will only get lost and run out of gas. Ask the Israelites if walking around the same mountain for 40 years was the plan. It wasn’t. The plan is to trust in God’s road, even with all the potholes and difficulties.

You will find places along the way that will refresh and renew you, but they may not be your 5-star all-inclusive resort you want. It may be a station called “Gas”. It might be an 8 room drive-up motel that only takes cash and has a clerk sleeping with his head down on the front desk with a gumball machine that hasn’t been refilled in years.

As you get back on the road, you are hoping over the next hill the road improves and you get to your destination. You crest the hill and you might see that the road has turned into a gravel road. How can it get worse? It is supposed to get better.

But you see another sign that says “Detour” with an arrow pointing straight ahead. Will you trust who put out the detour sign? Will you believe someone knows which way you need to go, even if you can’t see it?

Faith is what will fuel your car (life). Faith in the one who knows the way and placed the sign will give you what you need to keep moving forward.

You may drive by others stopped along the roadside. You may have people stop you and tell you that you can’t make it or to take a different route.

The One you need to believe and listen to is the One who has already laid out the path. God knows the end from the beginning. He is waiting for you to let Him be your GPS, God Perfect Sign!! He placed the signs to show you the way!!

Along your broken road you will see others on the road with you. They may try to keep you from getting to your destination. There might also be folks needing encouragement like you. Don’t get distracted by the wrong people. Be willing to share your broken road story with those who would benefit from what you have experienced. Maybe helping someone fix a flat will lead to a life long friendship.

2 Corinthians 5:7 English Standard Version

⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Galatians 2:20 English Standard Version

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

We are meant to go down our broken road with Jesus, guiding us to stay on the detour route. He placed the signs. He knows the way. He IS the Way!!

Stay on the road, moving forward in faith. Believe the one who knows the final destination.

You will make it if you don’t turn back or stop. Your speed may slow to a snail’s crawl at times, but you’ll get there. You will make it!!

As I wrap up this post, I have had “Walk by Faith” playing non-stop. I has encouraged me to encourage you. I know the peace, joy, blessings, and life He has guided me to, but it all started with my own broken road journey. Without Jesus and letting Him carry me, I would have pulled into a ditch and stayed there. I am so glad I didn’t.

God has something amazing for you. I can’t wait for you to get there.

If you want watch a video of “Walk by Faith” rereleased in 2020, here it is.

The 2020 movie “I Still Believe” is the story of Jeremy Camp’s own broken road. His fiancee found out that she had ovarian cancer before they were married. I saw it in the theater, but you should be able to stream it on Amazon, Netflix, or one of the other streaming services. It will show you that God is waiting to greet you at the end of your broken road.

Be blessed!!

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