Going the Long Way Around

I could use a pillar of fire or a cloud of smoke. It’s not that I’m making some huge, life-changing decision to go somewhere or do something. It’s just that I’d like to know that the direction I am going in is the right one—especially on those days when I'm not so sure.

Have you ever had times like that? The vision gets clouded, the path gets cluttered, the journey seems more circular (a.k.a. running around in circles) than anything else.

Genesis 13 describes the beginning of the journey the Hebrews embarked upon as God took them out of Egypt. They began by marking the day with a ceremony that they were to observe for the rest of time—a means of remembering all that God had done, and a jumping off point in the lessons they were to teach their children about God (13:1-16).

The chapter ends with this: “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in the front of the people” (13:21, 22, NIV).

I think my cloud is a wisp of steam rising from the humidifier and my fire sits on the head of a match. There are days when something a bit more obvious would be appreciated.

Then I look back at the bit of information between the ceremony and the signs to discover that God didn’t take the shortest route to the objective. The way to the Promised Land could have taken the Hebrews through Philistine territory—the shorter route but, God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt” (13:17, NIV). So He took them the long way around.

I wonder if anyone told them that. I wonder if any of the more geographically astute of them asked, “Why are we going the long way around?” Here the faith card needs to be played again.

A couple of million people need a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire; I’m only one person so the signs of God’s leading in my life might not be as spectacular. As well, the longer route to the goal doesn’t mean that God neglected to take the advice of His heavenly GPS. It simply means He saving me from something more frustrating, discouraging, or disconcerting than what is the present reality.

Come to think of it, as I look back at the ways by which He has led in the past, this isn’t the first time He’s done this. Time to play the faith card again.