There have been times in my life where I’ve wondered why God guided me along a certain path. At the time it didn’t make sense, but later I began to see the wisdom in some of these diversions. In some cases, He steered me away from something I wanted to do and ultimately saved me a lot of grief.
I see this playing out when the Israelites first left Egypt. In Exodus 13:17, God had them avoid the land of the Phillistines even though it was closer because, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” They had lived for more than 400 years under Egyptian rule and had no experience in defending themselves against a seasoned army. So he had them take the long way, “by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt (13:18).”
God’s wisdom is evident when the Egyptian army shows up to pursue the Israelites. In Exodus 14:10-12, the Israelites see “the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened.” They immediately regret leaving Egypt: “Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness (14:12).” But God shows them His path and His power. He demonstrates who they should trust when he creates a path for them through the Red Sea.
© 2022, Chris G Thelen
140 Character Christian 
Amen. In my own life, God has taken me on a route, totally unseen by myself. His invisible hands are at work, and we just need to trust in our own faithfulness.
When I look back at my life, I am amazed at how he has been at work in totally unexpected ways. May we continue to trust him. Thanks for the comment. Blessings.
What a stunning photo!
God’s creation is amazing! Blessings.
God also had a plan for them to meet with Him in the wilderness. Remember that is what Moses kept telling Pharaoh. It reminds me that the Christian life is more about meeting God than just taking a shortcut to Heaven.
Good point. Thanks for sharing. God is preparing us to meet with him. He is at work in our life guiding us. We should be careful not to get distracted by the things of this world. Blessings.
God sure knows how to set a scene.
His wisdom is so superior to ours. Praise God that He patiently mentors us. Blessings.
Excellent post and very good comments! 🙂
Thanks for the comment. Blessings.
And sailors on on ships can’t get experience if the ship stays in the harbor. Thanks for the comment. Have a blessed day!
Yes, indeed. It’s relatively easy to trust God when things are going smoothly. But when things get tough, it’s a different story. My mother had a favorite saying, “ A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” It seems a bit strange to me now; she was not a risk taker type. And thank you, CG (Chris). 😊 God Bless.