We all love a shortcut. We want the quickest route, the easiest path, and the shortest distance between where we are and where we want to be. But what happens when God takes us the long way around? In Exodus 13:17–18, we find the Israelites beginning their journey to the Promised Land after more than 400 years of Egyptian bondage. You would think God would lead them along the shortest, most direct route. Instead, He deliberately took them another way. The Bible tells us that God knew if they encountered war with the Philistines, they might become discouraged and return to Egypt. God was protecting them from a battle they were not yet prepared to fight. There is an important lesson here: The shortest way is not always the best way, and God's way is always best. Sometimes God's direction doesn't make sense. Sometimes His way is not the easiest route, and sometimes He leads us in a direction we would never have chosen for ourselves. Yet we must remember that God sees what we cannot see, knows what we do not know, and understands what we are not yet prepared to face. Perhaps that is where you find yourself today. You cannot understand why the road ahead seems so difficult or why God has chosen this way. Remember Psalm 103:14: "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." God knows our limitations. He knows which battles we are ready to face and which ones we are not. Sometimes what looks like a detour is actually divine protection. Sometimes a closed door is God's way of redirecting our steps. But we must also recognize that God's better way doesn't always lead around conflict. In Exodus 14, the Israelites soon found themselves trapped between Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea. God had spared them from one battle, only to lead them into another situation where they would have to learn to trust Him for deliverance. God's purpose is not always to keep us from difficult circumstances; sometimes it is to reveal His power and faithfulness in the middle of them. Job understood this when he declared, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (Job 13:15). Even when he couldn't understand his circumstances, he chose to trust the character of God. That is the essence of faith: trusting God even when the road is difficult, the answers are absent, and the destination seems farther away than ever. We celebrate the open doors God provides, but we must learn to thank Him for the closed doors too. We may never know what He was protecting us from or why He chose a particular path. Israel probably didn't realize that God had deliberately diverted them from the Philistines. That truth was recorded for our benefit. So, if God is taking you the long way around, don't assume you've missed your way. You may be exactly where He wants you to be.
