Has anyone ever had a day when you feel as if you want to land somewhere, but can't seem to find the place to do so?
Well- thank God for the word of God! My devotion this morning took me to a powerful portion of scripture in Exodus 13:17. "When Pharoah 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 return to Egypt." A verse someone had pointed out to me later in the chapter was The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
I found this interesting this morning, God's original plan seemed to be for the children of Israel to go the shorter route, but God knew their weakness, so He took them the long route, which eventually put their backs to the red sea. The Egyptian Army eventually caught up with them anyway and this time it may not have been in the open desert, but their backs were against a sea of water, with no where to go. God would fight for them-just as He would have in the open desert, on the shorter route.
My question this morning to God- "why do so many of us choose the longer route? To avoid pain? Conflict? Is it fear? Maybe a fear of what others will think? But eventually, we all have to face our "armies.' And when we do, we finally realize-"The Lord does fight for me." But- we have to remain still. The Israelites had no place to escape- they were forced to remain still, and see God's delieverance. I wonder what they thought? Maybe they wished they had taken the shorter route and faced their fears and enemies much sooner. Did they feel foolish after all their doubts? This is how I felt this morning- this word from God was a great reminder, and sort of a "spritual spanking, " reminding me of God's love for me, no matter what.
So, I landed in a good place. God's word encourages at the same time it reproves me. After my landing, I was able to stand again in confidence, with the knowledge that He is fighting for me, what do I have to fear?
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