Clear Leading; Hidden Reasons
Today’s reading: Exodus 13:17-16:36
My selection: Exodus 13:17
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”
My reflections: God’s apparent zigzag direction had a purpose. The Lord led them but not by the most direct route geographically. He knew their hearts and minds. He knew they needed to make a clean break with the past and with Egypt. He reinforced that they could never go back by leading them through the Red Sea. The sea opened, they crossed and the sea closed behind them. “No turning back, no turning back.”
This closure was reinforced as the waters of the Red Sea swirled over and drowned the army of Pharaoh. God had left a marker of death in Egypt behind the Israelites with the slaying of the firstborn males and, now,the destruction of the army.
My challenge: God does not always reveal the reasons for His guidance but that does not mean He has no reasons. Believing disciples follow and trust His guiding hand even when it does not appear to be the most efficient or logical way.
Has God’s path for you seemed inefficient and inexplicable? Trust Him that He has a purpose in all things even the zigzag pathways of your life. It is enough that we know what He wants us to do, even when we do not know why.
Tomorrow’s reading: Exodus 17:1-20:21