When God gives a vision, He makes a way. But it’s not always the romantic-picture-feeling the whole time through. It’s often mundane and ordinary and looks like sitting and learning a language and then laughing at jokes you really don’t get because you only understood half of it. It looks like discouragement when the girls still don’t understand the reality of who Jesus is. It looks like continuing to pray when you're not hearing anything loud and clear. It looks like perseverance and endurance to continue when you just don’t want to get out of bed. It also looks like staying in bed every once in a while and sleeping because sleep actually can change a lot sometimes. It looks like coming to the end of yourself, in all of the ugliness and discomfort that means. It looks like sending the text again and again, in hopes that this time there will be a response. It looks like starting a conversation that you’ve been fearing the outcome of. It looks like putting headphones in and taking the time to stare out the window in the car. It looks like disappointing people. It looks like failing. It looks like trying. It looks like normal life a lot of the time.
And normal life means, well, everything. It involves the mountain-tops, the valleys, and all the extremely long in-betweens. I have been reading through Exodus, and there was a particular passage, Exodus 13:17-22 that really stood out to me. This is the point where God leads the Israelites out of Egypt after hundreds of years of enslavement. He has revealed his glory in the land of Pharaoh through signs, wonders, and plagues. He is now delivering his chosen people and this is what Exodus 13 says, “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 go back to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.”
This speaks to me.
One, because God knew what the Israelites were prone to: doubt, blame, giving in to familiar even in the midst of the deliverance they were waiting for. He truly is the same God forever, and He sees us, and saves us anyway.
Two, because He saw them, God took the Israelites the long way. Which means they had to walk farther, in the desert. So they probably got tired, and struggled with the patience they felt lacking in, and maybe even had moments of confusion and doubt if they were actually following God. (i might just be projecting my own feelings and questions onto the israelites, but also i feel like i’ve got some good backup given their long history of questioning and running and wandering) BUT IN THEIR WEAKNESS, God protected them. He knew they were runners so he took them on the trail that made it harder to turn around. He led them and took their tendencies and temptations into account. We have a God who knows us, and actively loves us completely.
Three, the Israelites thought they were ready to fight, but God knew different. They left Egypt “ready for battle.” like wow. How often do we think we are so ready for whatever life throws at us, coming in so overconfident in our preparedness and wisdom and high from this newfound freedom that we can’t see that God is sparing us from the battle we want to take on. Thankfully we have a God who sees us, knows us, and faithfully guides us when we choose to give him control.
I am someone who really doesn’t like in-betweens…I’ve even written a blog here about them. But I am also someone who is alive so I am usually in one of them, as most of us are. So here is to reminding myself that the ‘in-between’, the ‘long way around’, the sometimes-wearying ‘journey’ is a very key element to making it to the promised land and growing in dependence on the One who is always faithful to keep his promises.