“When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though it was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle they may change their minds.” So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. The Israelites left like an army ready for battle.” (Exodus 13: 17-18 NLT)
We can note a couple things in this text:
The easy way isn’t necessarily the best way.
God alone knows what we can withstand.
Transformation is essential on the way to the Promised Land.
The Israelites were not yet a nation. They were an overgrown and unsure extended family. They looked like an army, but they still thought and moved as slaves. For the last several hundred years, they had received daily orders about their work and home life from a Pharaoh they despised. Though they were a large people group (scholars believe as many as two million) they were not ready for war: structurally, spiritually, emotionally. The Lord rightly suspected that they might bolt back to Egypt at the first sign of conflict. For all these reasons, God didn’t take His people the easy way. He took them the transformational way. The Israelites learned how to be God’s people in the desert. They organized by tribes, established worship guidelines, justice systems and social mores. With God’s help, they became a nation of people before they occupied a land
I suspect the same is true for us. There’s likely an easy path to our final destination, but God’s concern is that we’d arrive without the character required to sustain such an address. So instead of leading us around the wilderness, He walks with us through it. .
The trip is just as transformational for us as it was for the Israelites. On the journey, we learn to engage with and love others as ourselves. The wilderness is the dusty stretch where we come to treasure God’s Word as our trusted guidebook. The long way teaches us that it’s more pleasant to walk in obedience than pay the price of disobedience. We are remade by our long walk in the wilderness with our Lord.
There’s a scripture that I’ve been reciting for years. I’ve come to believe that it is the divine key to success in our desert journey.
“Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?” (Song of Songs 8:5 NIV)
The way we thrive through the wilderness is by leaning on our Savior. In leaning, we learn to accept His manna with a grateful heart, to go when He says ‘go’ and rest when He says ‘rest‘. We grow (or die) to a point where we are more concerned with His presence than our own comfort. We walk in step with Him until we arrive in His Promised Land, where we’ll dwell in peace forever.
Lord, we are beginning to see Your purpose in the wilderness way. Remind us again tomorrow, when we are once again weary of desert dwelling. We know You are with us and for us, employing our surroundings in developing our character. Give us the courage to lean in and trust You, even when it feels as though we are still a long way from Home. Amen.