The Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt for 430 years. After suffering 7 plagues at the hand of God, Pharaoh ordered the Israelites to get out of Egypt. God chose Moses to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land.

Exodus 13:17 & 18 says: “When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, ‘If people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt’. So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.” (NLT)

Exodus 13:21 & 22 says: “ The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and He provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or the pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.” (NLT)

These scriptures spoke several things to me:

  • No matter what the situation, God has a plan.
  • He knows the battles that lie ahead so sometimes He needs us to go a longer route so as not to engage in a battle that He does not intend for us.
  • Sometimes God needs to take us the long way around so that we are not tempted to go back to the place we’ve been.
  • Sometimes when God takes us the long way around we need to be prepared for battle – even if that battle never comes.
  • Sometimes the long way around feels like the wilderness.
  • The place that God leads us to can appear as impossible as the Red Sea looked to the Israelites.

BUT

  • God goes ahead of us always & He guides us.
  • He provides light for us in our dark times and our dark places.
  • He gives us the freedom to move (the Israelites travelled by day or night….God allowed it).
  • He never removes Himself from the path that we are walking.

No matter what is going on in your life today, whether it is work, family, marriage, financial, singleness etc., God is as faithful to us today as He was to the Israelites back then!!

His word tells us in Hebrews 13:5 “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you”