The Incomprehensible Guidance of God?

 The Incomprehensible Guidance of God?

 

“Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you will never see again forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall be still.’” (Exodus 14:13–14)

 

It seems that we have entered an age in which maps are no longer necessary. This is because using a smartphone and GPS (Global Positioning System) has made it easy and convenient to find our destination as quickly as possible. Especially for someone like me, who is terrible at reading maps and easily gets lost, using GPS on my smartphone is very convenient and helpful. As a result, whenever I go somewhere unfamiliar, I find myself unable to avoid using GPS. That is how much I rely on it.

However, when driving, traffic jams often occur. Each time that happens, the GPS shows a shortcut. Of course, the choice is mine. I can choose to take the shortcut, or I can simply stay on the road I am already on and keep going even though it is congested. If I am not in a hurry, I usually just continue on the same road. But if I have to reach my destination by a certain time and time is tight, I often choose the shortcut that the GPS suggests.

Driving to a destination using the GPS on a smartphone may be simple, but our lives do not seem to be that simple. Of course, the GPS of our lives is the Word of God, and our destination is heaven—the new heaven and the new earth, the New Jerusalem. Yet because we do not clearly understand God’s guidance through that spiritual GPS, the Word of God, I think our lives are not so simple. Although we cannot fully know God’s guidance even through His Word, nevertheless, I believe we must continually learn God’s guidance through Scripture.

Up until last week, during early morning prayer meetings, I read, meditated on, preached from, and wrote devotional reflections on the book of Genesis. Through this process, particularly through the story of Abraham beginning in Genesis chapter 12, and continuing with Isaac, Jacob, and finally Joseph in chapter 50, I learned at least a little about God’s guidance. Among these lessons, I was especially moved by the passage where God made a covenant with Abraham and commanded him, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you” (12:1). When Abraham obeyed this command by faith, he went out “not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8; Modern Korean Bible: “without knowing where he was supposed to go”). God ultimately led Abraham to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:5), and God promised to give that land to Abraham’s descendants (v. 7).

God fulfilled that promise when, on the very day the 430 years ended, He delivered the Israelites from the land of Egypt (Exodus 12:41), led them through the wilderness for forty years (Deuteronomy 29:5), and brought them into the land of Canaan, “the land He had sworn to give” (Deut. 6:23; Joshua). In that process, as I reflected on the story of Joseph in Genesis chapters 37 through 50, I became even more interested in seeing how God guided Joseph.

Especially when I meditated on these passages from Joseph’s perspective, I thought that Joseph, who had dreams at the age of seventeen (Gen. 37:2, 5–11), probably did not understand why God had given him those dreams, why he was sold as a slave to Potiphar’s house in Egypt because of his brothers’ hatred, or why he was later falsely accused and imprisoned (chapter 39). I believe Joseph did not know the purpose of God’s guidance at that time. Even when he interpreted the dream of Pharaoh’s cupbearer in prison (chapter 40), he did not know God’s purpose. And even when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and became the prime minister of Egypt at the age of thirty (chapter 41), I think he still did not fully understand the purpose of God’s guidance.

It was only when the famine had lasted two years—when Joseph was thirty-nine years old (45:6, 11)—that he finally told his brothers the purpose of God’s guidance in sending him ahead of them to Egypt: “God sent me before you to preserve life” (v. 5), and “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God …” (vv. 7–8). In other words, Joseph dreamed at seventeen, and at thirty-nine—about twenty-two years later—he finally understood why God had guided him ahead of his brothers into Egypt. I believe that God’s guidance is mysterious and amazing, beyond what our intellect and reason can comprehend. Therefore, I believe that God, who “leads me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:24), will indeed “guide us even to death” (Psalm 48:14).

As I read Exodus chapters 13 through 15 during yesterday’s and today’s early morning prayer meetings, I meditated again on Exodus 13:17–18, 14:3–4, and today’s passage, 14:13–14, focusing on how God guided the Israelites after Pharaoh let them go following the tenth plague. After proclaiming God’s Word at the prayer meeting, I reflected again on these passages while writing this meditation, seeking to receive the lessons that come from connecting these three passages together.

The first lesson is this: God sometimes does not lead us by the shorter way, but instead leads us by a longer, roundabout way.

Look at Exodus 13:17–18:

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by 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.’ But 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.”

(Modern Korean Bible paraphrase included in the original text)

As I meditated on this passage again, I divided my thoughts into two simple points.

First, God did not lead the Israelites by the nearby way of the land of the Philistines (v. 17).

I found this interesting because our instinct is usually focused on how God will guide us. In other words, when we seek God’s guidance, we tend to expect that God will guide us this way or that way, but we rarely think about the ways God will not lead us. That is why the fact that God did not lead the Israelites by the nearby Philistine route stood out to me.

Why does God not lead us by the short, easy path that we pray for and expect? In the case of the Israelites, God did this because He thought, “If they see war, they will change their minds and return to Egypt” (v. 17). Applied to us, we might say that God does not lead us by shortcuts because He knows our hearts might change, and we might return to the world and live like the people of the world.

Second, why did God “lead the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea” (v. 18)? Why did He not lead them by the nearby route, but instead by a long detour through the wilderness?

I believe there are at least three reasons:

(1) God wanted to gain glory through Pharaoh and his entire army at the Red Sea, so that the Egyptians would know that He is the LORD (14:4);

(2) God wanted to give the covenantal Word—the Ten Commandments—through Moses at Mount Sinai (Exod. 20; 34:28); and

(3) As stated in Deuteronomy 8:2–3, God wanted to humble and test His people, to show them that they do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

I believe these reasons apply not only to the Israelites but also to us Christians, the church of God, who believe in Jesus. If we summarize these reasons into one, it is this: God leads us by a longer way in order to humble us and to teach us to live in obedience to Jesus’ two greatest commandments—to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36–40). And why does God want us to live in obedience to these commands as He leads us through this wilderness-like world on the way to the true Promised Land, heaven? I believe it is because God wants to gain glory by making us citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) and bringing us into His kingdom.

The second lesson is this: God sometimes gains glory by allowing us to be hemmed in and trapped.

Look at Exodus 14:3–4:

“For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.”

Just as God said, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds (v. 5), pursued the Israelites with chariots (vv. 6–8), and yet God gained glory through Pharaoh, his army, chariots, and horsemen, so that the Egyptians knew that He is the LORD (vv. 17–18). God overturned them in the sea so that not a single one survived (vv. 27–28), displaying His great power (v. 31) and gaining glory.

In our lives, there are times when we feel so trapped that no solution can be seen, no matter which direction we look. We struggle to escape on our own, but the more we try, the more we sink deeper, like someone caught in a swamp. In such moments, we painfully realize our helplessness and weakness, and in our desperation, we long only for the Lord and cry out to Him (cf. Jonah 2:4). At such times, God speaks loudly to us, like through a megaphone, enabling us to cling to His promises and endure in faith. Eventually, God works all things together for good (Romans 8:28), fulfills His promises, and leads us to praise Him.

Just as the Holy Spirit prevented Paul from preaching in Asia and did not allow him to go into Bithynia (Acts 16:6–7), I believe God sometimes blocks our path, hemming us in. Yet just as God later opened the door to Macedonia (v. 10), I believe that when God closes one door, He opens another in His time. Still, there are times when we feel completely trapped on all sides.

When I think of someone who was trapped, I think of Joseph in prison (Genesis 39:20). Though falsely accused and imprisoned, God was with him, showed him steadfast love, and eventually raised him up to become the governor of Egypt (Genesis 41). Likewise, Paul and Silas, though unjustly imprisoned, prayed and sang praises to God at midnight (Acts 16:25). When they praised God, a great earthquake occurred, the prison doors opened, and not only were Paul and Silas delivered, but the jailer and his household were also saved (Acts 16:31–34). God displayed His saving power and glory.

I pray that even when we feel trapped like Joseph, Paul and Silas, or the Israelites at the Red Sea, we will pray to the God of salvation and praise Him, so that we may witness not only our own deliverance but also God’s great saving power and give Him glory.

The third and final lesson is this: God tells us to stand still and see the salvation He accomplishes for us.

Moses said to the terrified Israelites at the Red Sea, “Stand firm … the LORD will fight for you; you shall be still” (Exod. 14:13–14). Though the Israelites had been marching boldly, they became terribly afraid when they saw Pharaoh’s army. This looks very much like us. Even when we say, “Amen, I believe,” we often become afraid when the storms of life rise, like Peter sinking into the water and crying out, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30).

What Moses said—“stand still” and “be still”—remains profoundly important. God fights for us and wants us to see the salvation He accomplishes. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Even now, I am still learning the importance of “standing still” and “being still.” I often fail to obey this Word, especially regarding church ministry, as my thoughts are restless. Though Jesus promised to build His church (Matthew 16:18), I often fail to trust Him fully. Yet Isaiah 30:15 reminds me: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”

As I conclude this meditation, I return to Proverbs 3:5–6, the passage about the assurance of guidance that I learned during discipleship training:

“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.”

I have come to realize that what prevents me from trusting God fully is my tendency to rely on my own understanding. Yet God continues to humble me, leading me not by shortcuts but by long detours, teaching me that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

By the gift of God’s grace—faith—I desire to obey His Word: to “stand still” and “be still,” and to trust Him with all my heart.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

(Psalm 46:10)

Rather than trying to understand God’s guidance with my own understanding, I desire to obey by faith.

Sharing by Pastor James Kim

(January 22, 2020)