Not Always the Best Way
Today’s Bible Reading; EXODUS 13:1-15:27
Exodus 13:17
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, "Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt." -
The shortest way may not be the best way. The children of Israel had been freed from hundreds of years of slavery. Theirs was the way of the worker, not the warrior. They knew only shovels not swords. They did not fight, God did. They did not struggle to be free, but surrendered to the one who freed them. The battle was the Lord’s.
The Philistines on the other hand lived for war. They were fighters, not farmers. Theirs was the way of battles, not buckets. They stood in conflict to the journey to Canaan. They were roadblocks on their route. Israel had not been trained or tested for the battle that would ensue. That direction would have been disastrous. Their defeat would bring despair. Their loss in battle would lead them to leave and go back. They would turn tail and run.
But there was another way, the way of the wilderness. The two paths lay before them, the way of war or the way of the wilderness. God led them by the way of the wilderness He led them this way to test them slowly rather then suddenly on the path of war. God’s plan was to perfect. He led His people through challenges over time rather than in a single conflict. He wanted to test their endurance rather than test them in a single encounter. A single test may prove their passion but multiple trials would prove their perseverance. God wanted a people who could pass the tests, not just do well on a test. It may not have been their way but it was God’s way. God led they followed. God prepared their way and perfected His people on the way.
Our spiritual journey is like their path. We look for the shortest route. We want to get there quick. We repeatedly ask, “Are we there yet?” Yet our way is not God’s way. Victory in one skirmish doesn’t secure sanctification. One test doesn’t make us tested. One trial doesn’t make us tempered. Time will tell. Adolescents don’t reach adulthood overnight. Maturity doesn’t happen in a moment. Disciples don’t develop in a day. Christianity is not a quick trip, but a long quest. It is not a sprint, but a marathon.
The way of the wilderness is not the easy way, but the enduring way. Tested saints are true saints. They are daily tried and daily trusting. He leads we follow. This is God’s plan. This is our path. Trust Him all the way.
Today thank God for your path. Commit to walk with Him wherever He leads you. Ask Him to help you trust Him when the path becomes long and tedious. Thank Him that His way is always the best way.
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