Life’s path is often difficult. So if we expect that God will always
give us an easy road, we may be tempted to turn our back on Him when the
terrain gets tough.
If you’ve ever considered doing that, think about the people of Israel.
When they were given freedom from the Egyptians after hundreds of years of
bondage, they took off for the Promised Land. But God didn’t send them straight
home. He “did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though
that was shorter” (Ex. 13:17). Instead He sent them on the hard road through
the desert. In the short run, this helped them avoid wars (v. 17), but in the
long run, there was something bigger at work.
God used that time in the desert to instruct and mature the people He
had called to follow Him. The easy road would have led them to disaster. The
long road prepared the nation of Israel for their successful entry into the
Promised Land.
Our God is faithful, and we can trust Him to lead us and care for us no matter what we face. We may not understand the reason for the path we are on, but we can trust Him to help us grow in faith and maturity along the way.
