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Exodus 15:22-27
25"Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet".
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To be Christian feels like roaming the desert sometimes - you're out of Egypt but now as you walk the desert sands, there are not "blessings" that are immediately evident.
I finally did it - I quit Medical Oncology for good.
Even typing this is difficult, using the forbidden Q word.
Is it years of training wasted, or a pivotal decision for a better life?
Such is the journey with God, where as you walk in the desert, you depend on Him for direction, shelter, food and water, purpose.
Faith is such an unusual thing - the Spirit in me knows that there will be manna, quail and water from the rock each day, and I need not gather out of fear if God says "I will provide", yet the flesh that I exist in still fears about tomorrow.
It is far better to have been at Marah, tasted the waters that were initially bitter, seen God take a piece of wood and use it to turn water sweet (an utterly illogical occurence which thus could only be considered divine) and have had Him make a covenant with you, than to have arrived at Elim and immediately tasted the waters that were sweet. However, one would still remember the initial disappointment of arriving at Marah with sweet relief after having meandered the desert with 3 days of thirst only to be met with unpotable water.
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Exodus 13:17-18
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." So God let the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.
As I move on to the next job, I put my faith in Him and the peace that really transcends all understanding, that He has not brought me through all that I have gone through in vain, but I will only know (γινώσκω, ginóskó) when I have walked that journey ahead of him.
Imagine if you were Joshua - you left Egypt as a young man in your prime. Knowing where modern day Israel is, it is obvious how one would plan the road to Israel if it were up to man - hug the coast of the Mediterranean, pass through Philistine territory and you;ll eventually end up at where modern-day Gaza is. Endless supply of fish, amazing sunsets and best of all - it takes you less than 1 week.
But the most direct route is not always the best.
If they had taken the above route, they would've missed:
- Red Sea crossing
- Water from the rock
- Seeing Moses and God on Mount Sinai
- destruction of Arad (Numbers 21)
- the entire Balaam-Barak episode
- defeat of Sihon King of Heshbon, Og King of Bashan
etc
Also, they would've fled the mighty Egyptian army (who were well known at that time for the prowess of the chariot i.e. the tank of the day) right into the arms of the Philistines - if they were already grumbling about not having meat apart from quail, one wonders how strong their faith would've been to have faced the Philistines.
tl;dr the 1-week old Israelite diaspora would've been rekt.
Fast forwad 40 years, Joshua would now be in his 70s - way past the prime of life, and having had to roam the desert for 40 extra years not by his own doing but because of the lack of faith of the other 10 spies. The Promise of the Promise land would've seemed distant, and 40 years of "sian-ness" could easily have set in. But in that time, the Israelite community had a long journey of God, which culminated in them taking the very first city after crossing the Jordan River - Jericho.
The journey is sometimes longer but God is more concerned with our faith and trust in Him, our relationship with Him and the quality of our spirit rather than our earthly standing.
