Sometimes Our Journey Takes Detours



Good morning, friends. It's been awhile.

I was recently studying for a retreat I was going to be speaking at, and part of the passage I was looking through was in Exodus 13, starting with verse 17.

"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.'"

I don't know about you, but this hit me square in the face, and I've probably read it a dozen times or more.

How often are we like the Israelites in this story? Anything the least bit difficult in our lives, and it often causes us to take a few steps backwards....lose heart....possibly even fall away from God for a season.

In this instance, however, God gives a little insight into why some things happen the way they do.
There have been so many moments in my life where I felt as if God was never going to answer a prayer request or never move on my behalf.

At times it has seemed that He was taking me the long way around things or stalling out when I was ready to move.

But, listen! Here it is right here! He knows how flip floppy we can become. He knows what storms we can weather and which ones we cannot.

He sees the road ahead of us and sometimes it is in our best interest to make a detour; a LONG detour.

But that doesn't mean that He has forgotten or doesn't have us in mind when He charts the course.
Whatever road you are on right now, perhaps you've been on it for a long, long while. Stay the course. He hasn't abandoned you. He isn't taking you the long way to punish you.

It might just be that He's guiding you on the re-route in order to protect you from things you are still not strong enough to handle.

Think about that one.

Blessings,
Kristi

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