How Life’s Detours Forge Our Purpose
It’s Saturday evening, but I’m already sitting here thinking about all the things I need to get done at work on Monday. I love my job so much, and I still get super excited going in every day.
I don’t do it anymore, but there was a time I used to arrive before everyone else, and even though we follow the hybrid model, I still go in more often than I need to.
I just finished reading Joseph’s story (Genesis 37-50) for the hundredth time and realized how symbolically similar his story is to mine. Seven years ago, I was a little too ambitious when I chose my program.
But when I arrived, reality set in. I couldn’t keep the scholarship and had to take up a full-time job. Many times, I wanted to quit, switch to an easier program, or even transfer to a private university, which would have been a lot simpler. But for some reason, none of it ever seemed to work out.
I was at my wits’ end because I wasn’t doing anything wrong, yet my plans just wouldn’t come together. By year four, I had managed to clear almost everything but had two dreadful courses left. I decided that was it. I would quit and move to something easier. I applied to two programs I liked, English Studies and Philosophy, submitted my documents, and was getting ready to start in a few months, only to receive news that changed everything.
Needless to say, I was devastated. But I figured, you know what, I’ll just dog it out with Probability Calculus and Mathematical Statistics and see where it leads. It took me two more years before I finally finished.
No doubt I could have landed great jobs with either of those other degrees, but it would have been much harder to break into my current field, which for the past few years has been such a source of joy to my soul.
I was telling this story to my cousins once, and one of them blurted out, “We didn’t sell you; you chose the program because you said you wanted big money.” I said, “Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Mr. Smarty-pants.” I didn’t have an answer at the time, but now that I’m reflecting, I would say that in my story, the “brothers” represent the forces and circumstances that slowed me down and tested my conviction.
They were not people like in Joseph’s story, but things like:
- The unrealistic expectations I placed on myself when I thought it would be easy to finish early.
- The mental exhaustion and self-doubt that crept in when progress didn’t match my plan.
- The systemic and academic hurdles that made the road longer.
- The voice of comparison whispering that I was behind while others seemed ahead.
Like Joseph, I learned that not every delay is a defeat. Sometimes the pit is preparation. My own “brothers” were not people but expectations, exhaustion, and the slow grind of life. They tried to bury me under discouragement, but that very soil became the ground where I grew deeper roots.
In Joseph’s story (Genesis 37:23-28), every stage that looked like a setback was actually a training ground. The job I took while studying worked the same way. It stretched me, slowed my timeline, and forced me to mature in ways the classroom alone never could.
Joseph did not end up in Egypt by choice (Genesis 39:1), and I did not end up on the long road by choice either. Yet the detour became the training ground. His patience was shaped in prison (Genesis 39:20-23), and mine was shaped between spreadsheets, lectures, and exhaustion. What felt like punishment was really preparation.
For some, the journey is straight and direct. For others, life has to push you down a harder, slower road because that is where your strength and purpose are forged. I know it can be hard to find courage when you are not doing anything wrong and nothing seems to be going your way. But trust me, that delay is not denial. It is refinement. Sometimes the pit, the prison, and the pressure are what shape you for the palace.
Every piece had a place. I used to pray for ease, but now I am just grateful for strength. Because when you finally arrive, you realize it was never just about the destination. It was about who you became on the way there.
So if you are somewhere in the middle of your own detour, hold onto your courage and keep moving. You are not late. On the contrary, you are right on time, exactly where you need to be, and most importantly, you are just in training.
Do you, like me, enjoy Bible stories? Is there one that reminds you of your own journey or something you have been through?
Originally published in Koinonia on Medium.
Leave a Reply