When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road.
–Exodus 13: 17-18a
When I look back on my life, I often see that the road that I wanted to take was not the one that God led me down. I experienced this most strongly over the 11-month period that I was underemployed. I questioned why God had called me to Fargo, only to let me be rejected over and over again, always being the first runner-up. I wish I could say that God spoke to me with this passage during that year, but it wasn’t until this year, having been redeemed from my difficult circumstances and having full-time employment, that I understood what this passage meant. God does not just lead us down the harder road because He feels like it. He does it so we won’t run the other way. And He lets us get thirsty in the desert, so that we will more fully rely on Him. I know that I had to rely on God daily to provide for my needs, and I still do. But when I am not in the desert, it is easier for me to run and not feel so dependent on God.
God was leading the Israelites to the land “flowing with milk and honey.” If He had led them through the shortest path, they may not have appreciated the land when they arrived. They may have thought that they led themselves. They may not have remembered thirst enough to realize how God was satisfying their needs. So I rejoice in the desert road, knowing that God is protecting me, providing for me and leading me where He wants me. And I also rejoice in the land of abundance, remembering how God provides for my needs whether I have much or very little.
