Indiana University Head Football Coach Curt Cignetti broke into coaching in 1983, beginning his college career as a graduate assistant at the University of Pittsburgh. As a GA, his duties included long “grunt work” hours for minimal pay. Then, in 2011, Coach Cignetti landed his first head coaching job at the Division II level at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP)—and 13 years later, he did it again at the Division I level with Indiana University in 2024.

Coach Cignetti was replanted from place to place over the past 43 years of his football coaching career, impacting the lives of countless coaches and athletes—many of them at Indiana University—where he won his first Division I Football National Championship as head coach last Monday night in Miami.

In a similar way, imagine the Apostle Paul, shackled in a Roman prison, his freedom stripped away and his missionary journeys halted. The man who once blazed trails across the ancient world—preaching the resurrection of Christ to kings and commoners alike—was now confined to a prison cell. It could have been the end of his story, a tragic fade into obscurity.

But Paul saw beyond the bars. He declared that his imprisonment wasn’t a setback, but a divine setup. Guards heard the Gospel, fellow believers were emboldened, and the message of Jesus spread like wildfire throughout the empire, impacting countless lives. What the enemy meant for silence, God orchestrated for amplification.

Now fast-forward to your life. Perhaps you’re staring at an unexpected pink slip from your employer or packing boxes for a move you never planned. Maybe a relationship has shattered, or a dream has derailed, leaving you uprooted and asking, “Why, God? What have I done wrong?”

Here’s the challenge: stop viewing these divine detours as punishment. God isn’t a cosmic disciplinarian wielding a whip; He’s the Master Storyteller, weaving your experiences into a tapestry that glorifies His name. He may replant you in a new city, a different workplace, or an unfamiliar role—not to sideline you, but to position you where the Good News can flourish through your living testimony.

Think about it. That new job might place you among colleagues desperate for hope, where your quiet faith becomes a beacon in their darkness. That relocation could land you in a community ripe for revival, where your story of God’s faithfulness ignites conversations about Christ. Paul didn’t choose his chains, but he surrendered to the One who did—and in that surrender, the Gospel advanced.

Here’s the encouragement: your life is no accident. God is writing your story with eternal ink, plot twists included. Every “detour” is a deliberate path to purpose. Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”

Listen closely—this is where it gets challenging: don’t steal God’s pen. Don’t grasp for control, scribbling your own endings, clinging to the familiar, resisting the replanting, or demanding explanations before you obey. “I’ll follow You, God—but only if it makes sense to me.” Paul didn’t do that. He trusted the Author, even in the dungeon. And so should you.

If you’re in a season of transition today, lean into it. Share your faith boldly in your new environment. Let your resilience preach louder than words. God isn’t done with you—in fact, He’s just turning the page, beginning a new chapter where His glory shines brighter through your yielded heart.

Love God. Love People. Live Sent.