The Scenic Route

As a kid, I remember hearing about the Israelites long journey through the desert on the way to the promised land.  What was expected to be a direct route, turned into God leading them through the desert for 40 years. 
I'll venture to say that not a single person in the whole crowd anticipated their journey to take as long as it did.  


God promises us things through His word that seem hard to remember in the grind of life.  He will finish the work he started (Phil 1:6).  Through all you see and do, He has your best in mind (Rom 8:28).  That's just hard for me to believe sometimes. I can imagine that the Israelites had trouble believing that they were truly on their way to a wonderful place at about the end of year 1 in the desert.  Little did they know, God would be molding and shaping them for the next 39!


I recently read these verses in Exodus 13


¹⁷ When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. 


...and that about sums it up.  God knows what we need. 


If we skipped right into the future God has for us, we might make some mistakes. Instead, there are things he wants to teach us and ways he wants to build us up in maturity right now so that we can handle future events the way Jesus would. 


If a flower bloomed in the middle of winter, it would shrivel up and die.  It waits for the warm and crisp air of spring to finally take it's shape and flourish. 


Father, You've got our best in mind and You're molding and shaping us right where we're at to prepare us for what's next.  Help us to submit to the road you've got us on. 


Amen.