The Incomprehensible Guidance of God

 The Incomprehensible Guidance of God

 

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, ‘Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. … Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.’” (Exodus 13:17–18; 14:1–2)

 

“Why is God driving me into such a difficult situation?”

Have you ever asked yourself a question like this? No matter how much you think about it, there seems to be no way out of the hardship. You try hard in every possible way to solve the problem, but the more you try, the more it feels as though you are sinking deeper into a swamp-like situation. Haven’t you ever had such an experience? The deeper we sink into such a painful, swamp-like situation, the more distressed we become because we cannot understand why God is driving us into such difficulty. When we are suffering like this, what should we do?

Personally, when things are hard and difficult, I often pray and look back on the past. Then I reflect on how God guided me and delivered me in those past seasons of hardship. As I think and think again, God often gives me in my heart the assurance of His guidance and the assurance of His salvation. The God who guided me and rescued me in those difficult situations in the past gives me confidence that even now, and in the future, no matter what hard and difficult circumstances I may face, He—who is the same yesterday, today, and forever—will guide me and deliver me. With that assurance, I often meditate on Proverbs 3:5–6, a passage about the assurance of guidance that I learned during discipleship training in college:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.”

As I meditate on this promise of guidance, I tell myself, “Do not rely on your own understanding,” and I speak to my soul, “Trust in God with all your heart.” I do this because God has promised, “He will make straight your paths.” As I meditate on Proverbs 3:5–6 with a longing heart for God’s guidance and trace the footsteps of the Lord who guided me in the past, I pray that whatever situation I am in now, and whatever difficult situations I may face in the future, I will not rely on my own understanding but will trust only in God and receive His guidance.

In today’s passage, Exodus 13:17–18 and 14:1–2, we can glimpse God’s guidance that is beyond our human understanding. It can be summarized in two points.

First, God did not lead the Israelites by the nearby way of the land of the Philistines, but instead led them around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea (Exod. 13:17–18).

This is God’s guidance that our minds cannot easily understand. Why would God, in leading the Israelites whom He had delivered from Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan, leave aside the shorter route through the land of the Philistines and instead send them on the longer route through the wilderness toward the Red Sea? Scripture explains the reason like this: “For God said, ‘Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt’” (v. 17). God did not lead the Israelites by the way of the Philistines because He knew that if they faced war with the Philistines, they might turn back in their hearts and return to Egypt. Therefore, God led them around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.

We like shortcuts. Even when driving, we think about how to reach our destination as quickly as possible. That is why we use navigation systems. When we enter our destination address, the navigation system finds the shortest route and helps us arrive as quickly as possible. This way of life has become very familiar to us. But if a navigation system did not show us a shortcut and instead directed us to take a long detour, we would surely think that it was broken or had some kind of problem.

I believe this also applies to God’s guidance. The guidance of God that we pray for and expect is never a long detour. In particular, the guidance we expect from God is not supposed to include hardships and trials along a long, winding road. Rather, the guidance we pray for and expect is the easiest and fastest way. We even think there might be a back road or shortcut. We want, somehow, to reach our desired destination in the easiest and fastest way possible.

But what if God leaves the shortcut and leads us by a long way around? How will we respond? Will we still obey God’s guidance by trusting Him and not relying on our own understanding? Or will we rely on our own understanding, leave the long way God is leading us on, and take the shortcut we want? We must trust God and obey His guidance. If God leads us by a long way around, we must obey that guidance.

As we walk that longer road, we need to meditate on Deuteronomy 8:2–3:

“And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

Perhaps God’s purpose in making us walk a longer road is to humble us, so that we may know that we live only by the word of God. What is important here, however, is not whether the road is a shortcut or a detour. What matters is whether, on either road, we are fully trusting God or not. I pray that you and I will trust God and, following His guidance, walk even the long road with faith together with Him.

Second, God led the Israelites to the Red Sea (Exod. 14:2).

This too is God’s guidance that our minds cannot understand. Why did God command the Israelites through Moses to “encamp by the sea, in front of Baal-zephon”? In short, this command was to pitch their tents right in front of the Red Sea. This command is difficult to understand by our own reasoning because if the Israelites encamped there, they would be “hemmed in” (Exod. 14:3). Yet after commanding Moses to have the Israelites encamp there, God told Moses that Pharaoh, king of Egypt, would think that the Israelites were “wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in” (v. 3).

In Pharaoh’s mind, since the Red Sea was in front of them, if the Egyptian army simply pursued them from behind, the Israelites would be completely trapped at the seashore. Even so, not only Moses but also the Israelites did exactly as God commanded (v. 4). What was the result? The waters of the Red Sea were divided, and the sea became dry land (v. 21). The people of Israel walked through the sea on dry ground (v. 22), while the Egyptian army—its chariots and horsemen—that pursued them (v. 26) were all covered by the returning waters, not one of them remaining (v. 28), and they were all destroyed (v. 30). In this way, God displayed His great power (v. 31). Therefore, the Israelites feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses (v. 31).

We never like being trapped. We do not like situations where, no matter which direction we look, we cannot see a solution to our problem. When we find ourselves in such circumstances, we become anxious and afraid. But if God were to command us to enter such a situation, could we obey like Moses and the Israelites? If God were to tell us to “go to the shore of the Red Sea” in our own lives, would we trust Him and quietly go, even knowing that we would clearly be trapped there?

If we rely on our own understanding, we would never go. But if we trust God, we will believe in His guidance and go. The reason is clear: Scripture tells us that God is the One “who leads me to a place of safety” (2 Samuel 22:33). Even if, in our eyes, “the front of the Red Sea” does not look like a safe place at all (and even if it truly is not a safe place), if the God who keeps us safe is with us in that place where we are trapped, then that very place becomes a safe place. On the other hand, no matter how safe a place may appear to us, if God is not with us there, that place is in fact the most insecure place of all.

That is why the apostle Paul and Silas, though imprisoned, prayed and sang praises to God, because God was with them (Acts 16:25). Likewise, even if we are confined like Paul, if God is with us and if God Himself has led us there, we must obey in faith. And like Paul and Silas, we should pray to God and praise Him even in that prison (Acts 16:25). We do so because we believe that God “leads out the prisoners,” grants freedom (Ps. 146:7), and makes them prosper (Ps. 68:6). I pray that you and I may have such faith.

As I conclude this meditation: the incomprehensible guidance of God—why He leads us not by shortcuts but by detours, why He leads us to the “front of the Red Sea” and allows us to be trapped—cannot be understood by our own reasoning. Because we do not understand it, we misunderstand God. At times, we even complain against Him. Yet even if we cannot understand God’s guidance with our own understanding, even if God leads us not by shortcuts but by detours, and even if He leads us to places where we are trapped, let us not rely on our own understanding but trust in God. When we do, God will surely direct our paths.

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

(Psalm 23:1)

Sharing by Pastor James Kim

[January 22, 2014 — “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:6)]