When God was leading the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, he did not lead them on the shortest route to the Promised Land (Exodus 13). Scripture says that God brought them a roundabout way. Why would God not take the shortest route?
Great question!
Sometimes the route that seems to make the most sense includes some danger that we may not see.
My dream, at 15 years old, was to have a church someday. As I got older, the dream evolved into a desire to lead at the church that I grew up attending. I joined the staff when I was 23 and it seemed the dream might become a reality! Then, in November of 2000, when I was 30, I received a call from one of the elders asking if I would be interested in the possibility of becoming Sr. Pastor! Are you kidding me? That was the dream!!!
Plus, it seemed like the shortest, safest route to what I wanted to do in life!
However, right after receiving the call, the Lord began to deal with my heart. Although that had been my dream, it was not His dream for my life! Over the coming days, weeks and months God widely opened the doors for us to plant a new church. While I grieved, and sometimes still do, about allowing the most logical route to my dream die, God knew exactly what He was doing! And today, I get to live my dream on a daily basis!
Our responsibility as God’s children is not to figure things out, but to simply follow Him! Even if the route doesn’t make sense to you, know that He is a good Shepherd! He will lead you into a healthy, life-giving place of influence in your life! Trust His plan and don’t force your own, even though it might seem like a shorter route!
