One of my big hangups in life is that I have to see the good in something before I really commit to doing it (or finish it). I have this need to see how it will benefit me or others, how strategically it makes sense, that its well planned out and thought of. I’ve pondered quitting school for the lack of seeing how what I was learning was practical to my field only to be quickly reminded by some circumstance or another that what I was learning was really that important to begin with. There seems to be something in human nature that causes us to not want to follow through with something unless we can see how it will benefit us. This was certainly the case with the Israelites in Numbers. Here they were, having been rescued from years of slavery and tyranny through God’s miraculous plagues, and next thing you know they are whining to their leaders, saying they had been better off in the bondage of Egypt. They couldn’t see where Moses was leading them, why they were going the way they were going, when the end was going to be, or what the plan was. All they knew was they were tired of walking  and the certainly of slavery seemed more appealing than the wilderness of the unknown. God had called them to something amazing. He set them apart to become the salvation of humankind, but they could not see that. All they could see was that they were scared, tired and anxious. I can certainly see those times in my life as well. Coming off a time when I could see and feel God working in amazing ways, He would ask me to follow him into the unknown and trust that he had a plan that I could not see. I am not a fan of this. If I had been Moses I would have wanted a big GPS with turn-by-turn directions, a measurement of how long the trip would be and when I would get there.

In his sermon, “The Roundabout Way of the Wilderness” Dr. Andrew Arterbury speaks of how God took the Israelites on the roundabout way. God led them in a way that would prepare them for the way ahead, even though they could not see it at the time. God takes us in the path that he knows is the best, even though we sometimes cannot figure out the reason why. The Isrealites almost certainly would have preferred some main roadway with safety and easy passage, but that was not what they needed to become who they were called to be. I would certainly prefer to know what direction I was supposed to head in life, what the “plan” was for things that I have been through, but in the end I can either whine as the Israelites did and think fond thoughts of a not-so-great time in my life, or I can persevere and push through to see if the promised land lies over the next hill. I’m so grateful for the Moses’ that God has placed in my life to remind me that He has a plan and to steer me in the right direction. Even if it does mean taking the roundabout way.