…That God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near, for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war…… Exodus 2:17

God’s chosen people had gone to Egypt during a time of famine where God had led Joseph to be ahead of them and led Joseph to be the Pharaoh’s primary steward and blessed both the Egyptian’s and His people with food during the famine.

But Egypt was not the land intended for His people and the Egyptians ended up enslaving God’s people.  He heard their prayers and sent them a deliverer.

These and subsequent interactions between God and His people I find so mysteriously amazing and absolutely applicable for today.  Remembering that God created all things including people, thus we are not equals to God, yet He still allows for our ability to say no; to think for ourselves.  As a Loving Parent, He tries to guide and to lay out the way, but as rebellious children, we are given the ability to choose a different path AND of course He knows that.

Do not doubt God’s power.  He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in an instant.  He destroyed the first-born of the Egyptians in a night.  He could have drug His people to the promised land whether they wanted to go or not.  Yet it is not as much the final destination but the how that destination is arrived at.  God had a promised land for His people.  But He wanted His people to want to go to that land.  To understand the land of milk and honey was from Him and that they would Love and worship Him for His Love and providence toward them.

So he knew that if He took the most direct route to the promised land for His people; His people would have to war with the Philistines (a war by the way that God would most assuredly ensure that His people won).  Yet He also knew His people might not have the will to fight that war, even with God on their side, so they might return to Egypt.  The inference there is if they decided to turn back, He would not have stopped them.  So knowing His people better than they know themselves; He decided the best route was through the wilderness.  A route where He was with them every day and night; giving them everything, food, water shelter.  Even then they rebelled but at least their descendants made the promised land.

Fast forward to today.  God has heard our sufferings and knows that we need a Savior to allow us to be in God’s presence.  He sent us His Son Jesus Christ.  Christ is here to lead us from our bondage to the promised land.  Christ knows the best route.  That route may seem to us like a wilderness road.  We look just across the proverbial street, see the destination and say that’s the way we should go but You, Christ are taking us somewhere else.  And like God’s people of old, we have the power to choose to follow Christ’s path laid out to us by God the Father and testified to us through the Holy Spirit, or to decide we know better.

There is a way to know.  The map is in the bible and the key to that map is in the prayerful relationship that we can have with Our Creator God.  May the seeming wilderness you find yourself in today actually be the Perfect Path that God has chosen for you.  How do you know?  Does your spirit feel aligned with where you are going even if the world believe’s you are crazy (kind of like Noah?).  Or is the world giving you two thumbs up but inside you feel like you are totally out of control or even dying?  God is in control and He wants your desire to follow Him.

His way is always the Right Way.  It is up to us to choose.