112. God's perfect timing

I listened to a teaching by Joyce Meyer the other day and she spoke about the fact that we are never alone. God is always with us, in every circumstance and in all situations. He is our best friend and we can share anything with Him. He is always by our side and He will never leave us nor forsake us. We can rest assured that we are always cared for. She then mentioned something in passing that made me think and dig deeper. She said that God didn't take the Israelites on the shortest journey from Egypt to the Promised Land; He took them the long route. The shortest route from Egypt to the Promised Land was an eleven day journey. But God didn't take them that way, He took them the long route that would have taken them two years (in the end it took them forty years, but it was due to their own disobedience). Why did God take them the long route instead of the shorter one? Because He knew that once they arrived in the Promised Land they would need to fight the inhabitants of the land and they weren't ready for it. Also they didn't really know Him and His ways, so He needed to teach them that and strengthen them in Him, before they met all the other 'gods' of the inhabitants of Canaan.

The same is true of us today. God often takes us on the longer route in our lives. We want things to be instant, we want things to happen quickly, but more often than not it doesn't. This can truly be frustrating. I have had many promises from God take years and years to materialize and some haven't even yet. It is easy to lose hope then and to get demotivated, to doubt and to wonder whether you heard correctly from God. But the thing is God is preparing us for what lies ahead and He cannot set the plans in motion for our lives if we are not ready for it.

I want to discuss two aspects to this, first of all in the real life events of the Israelites God prepare them for battle against their enemies. Now God could have sent a plague and killed off the enemy forces in one swoop. He could have stepped in and do all the 'fighting' on their behalf. But He didn't. He wanted them to show their obedience to Him and He wanted them to grow stronger through it all. Of course He helped them as we see with the walls of Jericho, but they still had to do their part. The walls didn't just fall down. They had to walk around it and not just once, but every day for seven days and on the seventh day seven times!! And then they had to shout and only then did the wall collapse. And after the wall collapsed, they still had to enter in themselves and fight. God didn't just let all the occupants die after the fall of the wall. No, God wanted them to fight and to learn to trust Him in the process. The same is true of us. Yes God can sort out all of our problems with no effort on His side, but He wants us to do our part, He wants us to trust in Him, to walk with Him and to exercise our spiritual muscles so that we can be warriors in His Kingdom. God doesn't want us to stay babies in the faith, He wants our muscles to grow and become stronger, so that He can use us mightily for His Kingdom!

Secondly, God sent the Israelites on the longer route so that they can get to know Him better. And today He wants us to get to know Him better as well. He cannot and will not release us into our ultimate purpose if we do not know Him and His ways. For if we don't then we will do more damage than good. He wants us to read our Bible, to spend time in reflection and prayer, to learn more from Biblical teachers so that we can be grounded in our faith in Him. So that when He releases us into His ultimate purpose for our lives, we will be ready to shine and to make a huge difference in the world around us.

Please don't make the mistake that the Israelites made. God's longer route for them was two years instead of eleven days. That was His plan and it would have worked out perfectly. BUT they didn't listen and they didn't trust Him. And because they didn't, their longer route of two years became a much longer route of forty years. Plus only two adults who left Egypt, entered into the Promised Land, the rest died in the Wilderness. Do not allow that to happen to you. It is possible to totally miss your calling in life if you do not spend time with God to grow spiritually, if you simply want to take the easy way out each time and are not prepared to stand and fight. You can also singlehandedly postpone your calling with years and years if you do not take your spiritual growth with God seriously. I beg you to rather stay close to Him and allow Him to take the lead. Then yes, it might still take time and it might still be a longer route, but then you can know that it is the best for you and that you will arrive at your destination not a moment too soon or too late, but just in time. God's timing is perfect, trust in it!

Father I know we do not always appreciate the longer routes that we need to take in our lives, but we realize that the longer routes helps us to grow and to develop our spiritual muscle. Help us to be patient during those times and to trust You with all of our hearts and minds. We know that You know best. Help us with the growing process and keep us close to You. We pray it in Jesus' Name. Amen

1 comment for “112. God's perfect timing”

  1. Gravatar of HenriHenri
    Posted Monday, 28 June 2021 at 12:37:58 PM

    Through your 500 devotions you have shown us so many faces of God . Thank you.

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