Unexpected turns

One of my brothers recently spent a night in jail. Nothing serious, he was pulled over for a speeding ticket and didn't have his license with him. I was still worried about him though. So I spoke to him when he was released. I asked him how he was feeling. Thinking he would tell me what a horrible ordeal it was, he gave me the exact opposite. He said he was grateful for the experience because he believed that God had allowed that situation to happen.

He said the cop that took him in was very apologetic. He said that he had no choice but to take him in. On their drive to the station, he talked with the cop about life in general. Then talk turned to God. The cop was telling him about his journey with God and how he has begun to stray. Can you imagine that? A cop kind of confessing to a prisoner. When they got to the jail, my brother said the cop thanked him. I guess he encouraged the cop to get back on track with the Lord.

In the jail, he met two inmates who had been there for a while. As they talked, they found out they had a lot in common. Eventually, their talk turned spiritual. It was then that my brother shared his testimony with them, about how he believed God allowed him to be pulled over so that their paths could cross. He told them about Jesus and the sacrifice He did for us. The inmates looked at him as though they were hearing this story for the first time. As they parted in the morning, my other brother was kind enough to go bail him out, my brother who was in jail prayed with the prisoners.

He has no idea whether they've changed their paths, but he believes that God used his situation to reach those prisoners and the cop. We throw around the verse 'God works in mysterious ways.' But he really does. He takes what looks like a dark valley today and can turn it into a road that leads to the mountaintop tomorrow. What may look like a detour in our journey in life may actually be a new road God has put there that can lead to blessings.