My team spent the past two days traveling from Manila to Tacloban. We arrived at the bus terminal at 10AM on Tuesday, June 10th. Little did we know, the next thirty or so hours would be spent waiting and traveling. We waited in the bus terminal for about six hours, sat on the bus for an hour and a half, rode the bus for fifteen hours, rode a two-hour ferry and got on the bus again for seven hours.
Driving in the Philippines is a free for all. There may be lanes on the road, but they are not always used. People walk throughout traffic. Vehicles get within inches (even closer) of each other and people. Plus, there are numerous motorcyclists that speed down the roads and weave through traffic. It is much different from the United States. Drivers use their horns consistently to warn other vehicles, people, dogs, etc. that they are approaching, but they rarely slow down. They drive fast and brake hard.
As the sun fell, the bus was nearing emptiness. One of my teammates and I decided to move to the backseat of the bus. It had a row of five seats side by side. As I stretched out across the seats and rested my head on my pillow in my teammates? lap, I tightly gripped one of the handles on the back of the seat in front of me for reinforcement. Otherwise, I definitely would have ended up on the floor (my teammate did at one point, which only led to uncontrollable laughter). Anyway, the bus swung around S-curve after S-curve. There was a time where I looked down the aisle and fear rose within me because I saw how close the bus stopped to another vehicle. I closed my eyes as a passenger and chose to trust the driver. Trust that the driver knew what he was doing. Trust that he has driven this route countless times and has a good, clean track record. Faith works similarly. I should choose to close my eyes and trust God. “For we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). When I focus on my circumstances or what is right in front of me, fear rises within me. How often am I living by sight rather than trusting the driver or trusting God? God has an amazing track record in my life. He has been faithful to me countless times. Why would he not remain faithful in the present?
At another point on our bus ride, there was a detour sign. The detour was due to a bridge being repaired. The detour was a make-shift bridge –the kind with two boards for the wheels to roll across about 3 wood planks wide each. Fear rose within me immediately. I was on a greyhound type/size of bus. Talk about trusting the driver. It is the same with God. Often, he takes me on detours in life. Usually because what I thought was best for me is not in fact His best. God knows me to my core: dreams, desires, interests, etc. He made me. When something does not go as planned, faith comes in, and I should trust that God knows best for me. If I did not take the detour (even though it was a risk and a bit scary), I could have ended up in destruction or possibly death from the broken bridge. Or maybe, I would have survived the broken bridge, but it would not have been God’s best for me.
Choose to close your eyes, live by faith, and trust God– easier written than done. He knows the road that lies ahead of you. He has already gone before you to prepare it. He is faithful. Do not freak-out if he takes you on a detour in life. It may be scary and risky, but without risk, there is no room for growth. Trust. Risk. Grow. And live out God’s best for you.
