I read last night to the kids from Exodus before they went off to bed. Chapter 13:17-18a says this: When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though it 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 toward the Red Sea.
Here’s some things I began to think about:
1. How easy it is for us to assume we know better than God what we need. I would bet the Israelites weren’t told the reason for going the long way to Caanan. What did they think? Wouldn’t shorter be better? It would be less taxing on the children and seniors. It would bring us sooner in the Promised Land. If you look at a map, the probable path of the Israelites takes them south and east before going north. Again, it would be easy to assume that a mistake has happened. There were trade routes due East that would have been shorter and not through the land of the Philistines.
2. God had plans to show them (and the rest of the near world) his glory, his power. We, on the other hand, just want to avoid all suffering and danger. If it wasn’t enough to see God deliver them out of slavery, they were going to see his power to save them a second time when cornered by Pharaoh. Why put them through this stressful situation? The end of chapter 14 says this: And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feard the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
3. Despite obvious evidence of the Lord’s guidance, we are prone to give way to fear. Notice that though they had the cloud and the pillar of fire with them, they immediately despaired when they saw the army coming after them. And of course, when we despair, we are prone to attack those in authority over us. And we disbelieve that God is good.
So, what you are going through today may indeed be a trial but also a blessing. What we often cannot see is how God’s hand is in it or how it will be a blessing. There are times God brings us through a difficult thing to (a) protect us from something even more dangerous, (b) to increase our faith in him, (c) and/or to show us his glory. We do not have access to hindsight as we do with the story of Israel. However, we do have access to his promise that he will be with us and that he is shaping us into his people. We do not have to be pious and call the evil being done to us something good. No, it is not. And yet, God is good. He uses these things for his glory and our enrichment.
Now here’s my challenge. I have to have faith that my several thousand dollar car repair is a blessing in that it provides an opportunity to hang more tightly to God in regard to my finances. Rather than trusting myself, I must trust him. Instead of saying I will do thus and so, I must be more careful to say (and mean!) if the Lord wills…
Musings on Faith and Psychology 