When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” Exodus 13:17
Growing up as a Christian, I thought that If I was truly aligned with God and walking by faith, things would go smoothly, with few difficulties in the way. After all, there are several verses in scripture where God assures me that He will go before me. My interpretation of God going before me was that all mountains would be leveled at His presence, so I can walk smoothly through the way. Well, it didn’t take too long to wake up from my misinterpretation of what it meant to walk by faith. The journey of the Israelites from Egypt to the promised land has been one that has taught me so much about faith and changed my perspective. And today, I’ll be sharing five profound lessons I have learned. It’s quit a read, but be sure to not miss the very last lesson.
The story of how God delivered the Israelites and how He brought them into the promised land depicts in many ways how God leads us. After God delivered Israel from Egypt with such a mighty display of power, God began to lead them to the promised land. God had two routes for them: a shorter route through the Philistine territory and a longer route, through the Red Sea. Both routes had obstacles that needed to be conquered; fight the philistine or find a way to conquer the Red Sea. This brings us to our first lesson: The fact that God is leading you does not mean you will not encounter battles and challenges. God was leading Israel, and both pathways had obstacles. Faith does not take away the obstacles, faith recognizes and overcomes them.
God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” With the mindset I had earlier about faith, I would have turned back just like the Israelites in the face of a battle. My wrong mindset would have interpreted the battle to mean, this is not God’s will, God cannot lead me into a battle. That incorrect mindset would have caused me to abort a journey God was taking me on. This was the same issue for the Israelites, they did not have the belief systems that could allow them to walk by faith.
This leads us to our second lesson: How you respond in the face of challenges is determined by your mindset(perspective). You can abort your journey in the face of challenges or choose to overcome by faith. It sometimes feels easier to return to what is familiar or your comfort zone. But remember even when it’s God leading, you will need to overcome obstacles. Don’t let the enemy to deceive you into believing you are on the wrong path because of obstacles. Choose to overcome and keep moving.
Next on their journey we see that even though God was present with the Israelites, He could not intervene in their situation. God was willing and able to give them victory over the Philistines, but they did sustain a belief system that allowed them to walk by faith. So they could not experience His power or victory in that moment.
The third lesson here is that the presence of God in your life does not determine if you win or lose, your mindset does. How you think will determine if you choose to believe God and walk by faith or turn back. This lesson was very personal because I have often asked the question – God where are you? In the face of challenges. But this lesson has taught me that even though God is with me, I need to constantly align my thoughts with His thoughts and believe Him, to experience victory.
An additional point to note is that victory over any obstacle is not dependent on the physical or external advantages you have. Isn’t it interesting that God did not say – These people will turn back because they do not have swords, or because they do not have trained soldiers. He said they would turn back because of how they think. You can have all the external advantages and still lose if your thoughts or belief system is one of defeat. Winning or losing in life is primarily determined by how you think.
God in His mercy decided to take the Israelites through a longer route, just so they would not turn back and abort their journey. But when you think about their journey, both routes required faith. Going through the Red Sea required faith and fighting against the Philistines did as well. So why was the Red Sea God’s choice? Have you ever wondered why? Here’s what I think.
In fighting the Philistines, God needed the people to have faith, so He could fight through them to give them victory. One person alone could not have fought the Philistines and brought the victory needed. However, at the Red Sea, God did not require the people to have faith. All God needed was for one person to have faith and that person was Moses. Moses had a different mindset from the people, he was able to operate in faith, allowing God’s power to flow and part the Red Sea. Once that was done, the people could walk on dry ground and continue their journey. So God picked a path that required only Moses’s faith and not the faith of the people.
As Israel journeyed with God through the wilderness and into the promised land, one thing was very clear, it took faith to walk with God. Through the wilderness, we see that it was mostly the faith of Moses that sustained them. Moses parted the Red Sea. Moses believed God to bring water out of the rock. Moses went to God to turn bitter waters into sweet waters. All of which required faith in God. Whether journeying through the wilderness or taking possession of their land, faith was required.
The fourth lesson here is that walking with God will always require faith. God will lead you through paths with obstacles you cannot overcome by yourself. You will need faith in God to overcome these obstacles. If it is God leading you, it will require faith.
Another important point to note on their journey was that, In the wilderness, God could walk through Moses’s faith to provide and lead the Israelites. God did not require the faith of the people. However, when the time came to take possession of the promised land, God needed them to operate by their faith. Even though Moses, Joshua, and Caleb believed in God, the Israelites could not possess their promised land. Getting into the promised could not happen on the faith of just a few, God required the people to believe at this point.
The fifth and very profound lesson is this: There are certain aspects of your journey as a believer where you can be carried by the faith of others. But when you want to take possession of what God has prepared for you, you will need faith in God by yourself. This is why we must contend to grow in faith. While we will always be grateful for our pastors, and spiritual leaders, there’s a limit to how far we can go riding on their faith. If you will possess your promised land, you must do so by your faith.
If it is God leading you, It will always require faith!
Don’t abort your journey, change your perspective, strengthen your faith, kill your giants, take down the walls of Jericho, It’s time to take possession of what God has given you.
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.1 John 5:4
