Has it ever seemed to you as if God was taking you around the world just to cross the street? Or that He majors on making simple things complicated? We can be tempted to entertain thoughts like those because our perspective pales in comparison to God’s. I am convinced that if we knew what God knows, and if we saw things the way He does, His actions would make more sense to us.
After Pharaoh let the Israelites go, they started their journey to the Promised Land. “God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt” (Exodus 13:17, KJV).
If you look at a Bible map, the route from Egypt through Philistine is the most direct route to the Promised Land. But God took them the long route through much wilderness. He had a good reason for doing so. He didn’t want them to see war along the way, become fainthearted, and return to Egypt.
The same is true for us. God has a good reason for doing things for us the way He does them. He always has our best interest at heart. But it takes trust and faith in Him to be at peace with that statement. The way God does things won’t make sense to us. His ways are so much higher than ours.
God Had a Good Reason for What I Experienced
My previous church pastorate ended over 20 years ago. When I first started the church, I thought I was going to take our city by storm. I knew God called me to preach. I loved the Lord. And I felt adequately equipped to be effective.
But things didn’t turn out even close to the way I thought they would. I could make no sense of what God was doing. It was a long and trying process.
Well, as they say, hindsight is 20/20. I am well on the other side of that ordeal. I now see God’s purpose for my life more completely. The version of me that resulted from that experience amazes me. I won’t give any thing in exchange for that experience. It has catapulted me to a new level of effectiveness in ministry. Through it, God greatly enlarged my sphere of influence in the work of the ministry.
The way God is currently working in your life may make no sense at all to you. But He has a good reason for doing things the way He does. He knows what He’s doing, in spite of how things appear. Trust God. He always has your best interest at heart.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.