Our family enjoys going to Ikea even for just a day outing. It’s a great store with a huge layout. The entire route throughout the store is marked with arrows on the floor to get you through from start to finish.
There was one time when I wanted to go back to check an item that was in the very beginning of my trek. As we started to retrace our steps, I decided to take a short cut and made my way through what seemed to be a more direct route. The result? We were right back at the point where we began our “shortcut”.
There are times in life that the longer route
is the very road intended by God.
Let’s take God’s people – the Israelites. God delivers them from slavery in Egypt. He takes them on a road trip to their promised land. But interestingly, He does not take them directly there. God leads them by a longer route.
“For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds & return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea” (Exodus 13:17b-18a NIV).
God knew His people might face enemies they were not yet prepared to face, which would cause them to give up and want to return to Egypt. He knew the longer route was the one that would bring a successful exodus.
In my Key Word Bible, we are given several purposes for this longer route:
- The people needed to learn not to solely observe God’s mighty works. They needed to also learn to depend on Him for the necessities of life. God was able to do the mighty and instantaneous, but He also wanted His people to depend on Him daily for their needs. They were to learn to come to Him for the basics such as food and water, their daily allotment.
- They needed to learn that they could not rely on their own abilities but that all that would be accomplished in their lifetime was solely accomplished by God’s own power.
- They needed to learn that even though they had been delivered out of the bondage of Egypt, they still needed to depend on God to maintain that freedom.
And so it is with us today.
Sometimes the journey seems a little long. But there are lessons along the way which God knows are for our good to learn. Much the same way that the Israelites had to learn to trust God, we, too, will need to trust Him.
“Unwavering trust is a rare and precious thing because it often demands a degree of courage that borders on the heroic.” (Brennan Manning).
May we trust Him and become people who dare to do the heroic.
*This is an edited repost.
Today I am joining … Tell His Story and Grace Full Tuesday and TrekkingThru and #RaRaLInkup .
When I look at the journey the Israelites took, I always hope that I learn my lessons more quickly and that they stick better ;). Alas, all too often they don’t and I don’t.
Praying for lessons that stick!
Love the IKEA analogy! We don’t have one in our town so we always look forward to shopping there even if we don’t “need” anything. We always discover some useful treasures!
But we are good at trying to find our own shortcuts in life, aren’t we! And too often they end up in a dead end or worse. Thanks for pointing out God’s purposes in the journey.
God is always at work – teaching and leading us. May we trust Him and not fall for the shortcuts. Blessings to you, Donna!
Joanne, I had to smile when I read your post. It reminded me of my dad and his “shortcuts”. He always knew a “faster” way to get where we were going when the family was in the car. Usually, his shortcuts wound up taking much longer than the direct route, but we had a great time getting to our destination. This line spoke to me: “Sometimes the journey seems a little long. But there are lessons along the way which God knows are for our good to learn.”
Laurie, now you made me smile as your dad and my dad would get along wonderfully! At least we have learned the journey and all we see along the way is more valuable, and memorable, than any shortcut 🙂