247. Why God Might Be Taking You The Long Way

The fastest route isn’t always the safest route and sometimes the “detour” is where God does His best work. We’re unpacking the Exodus story where God leads the Israelites away from the main road and straight into a moment that looks impossible: Pharaoh’s army behind them and the Red Sea in front of them. If you’ve ever wondered why life feels harder than it needs to be, this conversation is for you.

Links we mentioned in the episode:

• Jeremiah Study Bible with Footnotes
• Chronological Bible
• Everyday Gospel Read the Bible in a Year
• Check us out on YouTube!!!

Transcript

God’s Long Way And Stillness

SPEAKER_00 0:00

It's like remembering these this Red Sea moment the long way that God has us on these paths. God is intentional. He doesn't take shortcuts. He takes paths of intention. And so he is intentional with where he has us. So what we're supposed to do in that moment, just like the scripture says, is be still.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

We are at war, and it's not against our neighbors, spouses, children, politicians, or whatever else we feel like we're battling against.

New Setup And Today’s Question

SPEAKER_00 0:27

So the questions are who's the fight against? And are we winning or losing? We're the Adkins, and we are a force to be reckoned with. Are you ready to join the force? Hi everyone. Welcome. We have a new software, and I've used it for interviews, but have not used it yet for our individual podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

So giving it the old college try.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

Let's try this. I think we're gonna have to be closer. Okay. So today we are talking about why God might be taking you the long way. So how are you doing this week?

SPEAKER_01 1:06

I'm doing good. Good. How are you?

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Doing good. We had a few weeks of just off the wall episodes. How do you feel about them now that they've been out into the world?

SPEAKER_01 1:15

I like them. You do? The people, the people can see our personality.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Okay. I don't know. I'm still deciding how I feel. But we've got some good productive episodes coming.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

So there were some nuggets in those.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

I mean, there were some nuggets, but there's we're still gonna have fun. We have some funny ones planned, but we've got some some, you know, you're actually hopefully gonna walk away feeling like, all right, I think I got something this week.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

You gotta let your hair hang down a little bit.

Bible Habits And Reading Plans

SPEAKER_00 1:42

Yeah. Oh, okay. Uh right now I am let's just talk about like reading through the Bible and Bible study in general. Obviously, being a Christian family, part of being a force to be reckoned with, I would say the one of the most essential things is staying in the Word and seeking God and growing your relationship.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

And praying.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

And prayer. And that's it.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

That's all you guys needed. Read your Bible and pray.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

We are not very good at reading together, I would say, but we do individually do studies. What are you doing right now?

SPEAKER_01 2:19

I so I don't even know if I talked about this at all before, but I have tried to read through the entire Bible in a year. I've done different plans, and I just always I've never been able to complete it. And so what happens for me is I start in the Old Testament and I get stuck, you know, like four chapter or four books in, and then the whole plan just falls to nothing. So anyway, so last year I decided that I was, I was like, you know what, I never get to the New Testament. So I'm just gonna start in the New Testament. I get right into the good stuff, right when Jesus came. So I read, I read a chapter a day. And so I did this last year. I read a chapter a day in the New Testament, and I liked it so much that I just started it again. So that's what I've been doing. I just I read a chapter of the New Testament a day and just work my way through the entire New Testament, and then I say my prayers right after.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

That's awesome. And then if you get to a chapter and you're like, I don't even know what this means, what do what are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 3:13

Well, a few things I'll do is sometimes things will look confusing, so I'll try different versions because I read ESV, because it's you know supposed to be the most like like biblically like translated. I don't know, I don't know what the terminology is. It's supposed to be the most like accurate, I guess. But then there are times where I'm reading something and I don't know, I'm like, I don't really know what that means. So I'll read some different translations to see if I can get a better understanding, and then if I still hit something or something intrigues me that I feel like I want to know more about, I will go and do some research and dig in and try to get a better understanding. And I try to find people that have a reputable to me, people that I trust.

Tools For Understanding Scripture

SPEAKER_00 3:52

I am doing something similar, but with the whole Bible. So I've done the Bible recap before and it's good. The only issue I've had with it is the Bible is so rich, and you could spend a week on a a verse, let alone a chapter. And so with the Bible recap with Teralee Cobble, she's great, you do learn. It just goes so fast that I found that there were passages. I'm more of like a muller. Like I want to read scripture, and then I if I just read through it, it doesn't stick. But like if I maul over it and think about it throughout the day and then come back to it the next day, that's when I like learn and grow. And that was something I really couldn't do with the Bible recap because it's just so fast paced. And so I wanted to read through the whole Bible slowly, and so I'm doing everyday gospel by Paul David about Paul David trip. And it is a reading the Bible um in the in a year plan, but it's in order, Genesis through Revelation. I'm still it's March 18th, and I'm just only on January 28th, and I'm in the Exodus on Exodus 30. So are you doing it every day? It's just taking you longer. Um, I mean, I have skipped a couple days with travel, but mostly I'm doing it every day. But even more than that, I just like I'm taking so many notes and I'm not gonna have it done in a year. It could take two years, but that's something I'm doing as like a baseline. I think I'll eventually, now that I'm in a good rhythm, get add in a study here and there that I'm doing on top of that. But this is something I'm doing, like to get into the word every day. And I really like it. And I do the same thing, different versions. I have a shoot, what's it called? I have a Bible with that my pap got me with like the footnotes at the bottom. I think it's like a study Bible. And then I also have a chronological Bible that has like maps and stuff in it, and that's really, really cool. And I can link that. It's really, I love it. So I'll do that. And then one thing that I have done that could be questionable is um, and I probably shouldn't even say this, but it has been helpful to me, is I'll read like a chapter, Exodus 14, for example, and then I'll go to Chat GPT and I'll be like, recap Exodus 14. Tell me what happened. And it just kind of says, here's what happened, blah, blah, blah. And it's been very like I was nervous about that because I'm like, what's Chat GPT gonna say about the Bible?

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Twist.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

But it really hasn't twisted anything, and I've measured it up against Bible footnotes and all of that. And it's been, I think it pulls from other Bible studies and stuff. And that's been helpful for sometimes when I'm like, I cannot comprehend this. What's it saying? And it'll just kind of put it in layman's terms.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

I think that that is fine, if that's as long as that's not like your primary and only way of getting the Bible. Yeah. I think it's fine to supplement with different things. Yeah. I mean, you're reading straight from the Bible, you've got studies, you're doing all the things, like throw that in there, because it'll help you to discern and know, like, oh, wait a minute, that wasn't quite right chat. So one of the cool things for me, though, is I think just um, you know, reading through the old testament and going through different studies throughout my life, you have a better idea of like of the chronological things that are or of seeing things chronologically in the old testament. What has been neat for me in reading the entire New Testament, chapter by chapter, has been that I didn't necessarily realize that like one passage is leading right to the next one and that they're connected in any way. I feel like a lot of the times going since I'd never read through the New Testament completely before, you're doing sermons or whatever. So you focus on one book or you focus on one section or a certain topic, but reading through it's like, oh, I didn't realize that this just happened right after Jesus fed the 5,000, or this happened right after, you know, and it's like okay, that's pretty cool.

Why Slow Reading Changes Everything

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Yeah, I agree. I think that is really cool. And that's something that uh chronological Bible does because it takes you through it in chronological order. And then with the maps, it'll be like you can kind of see it brings it to life because I'm a visual learner, so that really helps me. So anyway, today, as I was reading through Exodus, we all know the story of the Red Sea. If you don't, that's totally fine, but it's a common story that we're relatively familiar with. But the cool thing about slowing down and reading your Bible is you can read things, you know, 10 times, even on the 11th time when you're reading the Bible, you just pick new things up and it sits with you differently. You might be in a different season of life or a different whatever, and God just speaks to you in different ways. And that was kind of happening with me, just as I've slowed down and been reading the Bible. And yeah, so I just want to recap this story. And I thought that it was cool and kind of just relevant for life in general, and had some takeaways, and I thought it would be a fun episode to do.

SPEAKER_01 8:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

So let's start. So the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. You know, Pharaoh was over them for 400 and something years. Finally, Pharaoh freed the Israelites, and so they were leaving and heading back home, and there were a shorter path.

SPEAKER_01 9:07

They're heading to the promised land.

SPEAKER_00 9:08

Yeah, heading to the promised land. And there was a shorter path that they could have taken. Let me pull up the passage. I always get nervous like talking, recapping scripture because I never want to say anything wrong.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

Well, so this was after all the plagues. Yeah. And after the Passover and everything. So then Pharaoh decided, you know, through all of that, he's like, All right, I'm just gonna let the Israelites go.

Exodus Setup And The Short Route

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Well, that's a whole story in and of itself. And like with each plague, his heart was hardened even more. But it was a whole hundred and thirty years.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

God was telling Moses to tell Pharaoh, let my people go.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

See, this is what this is why um we're not pastors, you know. But you do have to be so careful when you're teaching, when we're not teaching God's word, but we're just pulling takeaways out of this story. But there's just so much, and you don't ever want to misquote scripture. And so, with that, I'm gonna share the passages and I would highly encourage you to read them yourselves and just study this. And would encourage you guys to get into your Bibles too. Okay, yeah. So just as you had said, it would there were the plagues. The tenth plague was the death of the firstborn, Pharaoh's firstborn son was killed. And then in Exodus 12 30, it says, Pharaoh rose up from the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel, and go serve the Lord, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, be gone. And so then that's the exodus. The next part is the exodus of the Israelites scurrying out, and it says, The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. So they were enslaved for 430 years. So God then was leading them to the promised land by cloud and fire, by day and night. And there were two ways that they could have gone. Actually, there was a very obvious way that they could have gone to the promised land. But this is in um chapter 13, verse 17. It says, When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. So that was the pretty obvious and close way. For God said, Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt. So there was war with the Philistines happening with the Philistines. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

Yeah, just I went and read the NLT version for this too. So it said, 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. So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness towards the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle. And so, yeah, he he the Philistines and the Israelites have always had have always been at odds with each other. And so God was like, if the Israelites they just left being slaves for 400 years, and if the they we go the short route and it's they don't get very far down the road and they already run into, you know, having to have a battle with the Philistines, he was worried that they were going to change their their mind and want to go back to Egypt.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

Yeah, and I was doing my just researching some stuff, and I was trying to figure out what was the short way distance versus the long way. And it was the short way where the the obvious way was about 150 to 200 miles. And then the way that God actually led them was between 250 to 350 miles. So it was definitely a much longer way. And I'm sure that, you know, they're following God and they're trusting, but at the same time, they're like, well, why are we being led this long way when we could just go the shorter way? And it was very clear that God knew that they were not prepared for war at that time. They had just been enslaved for 430 years. They were probably tired and weary and all of the things. And he knew if they would go to war, they it would not be good.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Yeah, I mean, and God knew them well, obviously. He's God, he knows all things. But if you will continue, if you read through this whole Exodus, this whole time where they're being led to the promised land, there are multiple times where they turn around and say, We would have it better in Egypt, we should have just gone back to Egypt. But it was not a unanimous thing that the Israelites were like ready to be out on their own and go to the promised land. Like they felt comfortable in their slavery in Egypt.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Which is wild.

Cornered At The Red Sea

SPEAKER_00 13:57

Yeah. And in that they even say it right here. So continuing on in the story, in Exodus 14, it says, When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, What is this we have done that we have let Israel go from serving us? So he uh made ready his chariot and took his army with him. And he took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. They're going, they're walking, they're getting home. Pharaoh changes his mind. He sends six hundred chosen chariots after them, and he's telling them, We let's go capture them back because we want them enslaved again.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

And that is crazy and scary. Could you imagine being the Israelites?

SPEAKER_01 14:46

But yeah, and and they questioned it too, because they were like, We're like just wandering around here in the wilderness, right? They're saying, Well, we could have taken the short way, we didn't take the short way. Now we're wandering around in the wilderness, and here comes the Egyptian army to come get us, and we're stuck up against the sea.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Like what is going on?

SPEAKER_00 15:04

And it says in uh 14 verse 10, the Israelites feared greatly, and the pe people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt? Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians, just like you said, like they're complaining to God and saying, Why would you rescue us just to bring us here?

SPEAKER_01 15:33

To die.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Yeah, to die. So they were questioning God. I think I just like you said, throughout Exodus, they do this many times throughout this story and beyond. And I think that that's so such a good reminder, and it's so relatable that just of our humanness, that God can do so many miraculous things. They saw the plagues and they were spared from all of them. They were spared from their first son being killed because they did the Passover. And yet here they are. God rescued them, He's taking them home, and they're in a very scary situation again and questioning like, why would you do this to us?

SPEAKER_01 16:15

Yeah, they just saw all these wild things that God did. These cra like, think about like crazy stuff with the plagues hitting the Egyptians and them not being affected at all. God sending the angel to come and take the firstborns, but of anybody that didn't put the blood on the doorpost, which was them. And so their firstborns were spared. And now they're like, Oh no, like God like they're they don't trust God in this. So then they get into this predicament and they're not trusting God again. And it's kind of funny when you see it that way. If you think about it in the sense of like when you're trying to get your kids to do something, and they don't see the full picture, they don't understand like what you're trying to give them instructions to do. Yeah. And so they keep questioning you. That's like the Israelites with God. And so, like when you get to the next so when you get to the next passage, where are you? I'm in uh Exodus 14. Now we're into 15. So the Israelites are crying out to God, saying, Why and questioning Moses, why are you doing this? And it says, Then the Lord said to Moses, Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get this is the NLT version. It says, Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving, pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea, divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground, and I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will charge in after the Israelites. My great glory will be displayed through Pharaoh and his troops, his chariots and his charioteers. When my glory is displayed through them, all Egypt will see my glory and know that I am the Lord. So they're like, Oh God, why are you doing this? Question him. And he's like, What are you guys doing? Like, why are you crying out to me? Get get going, get moving. Like, I'm gonna make a way.

Be Still While God Fights

SPEAKER_00 17:51

Yeah, before that, though, sorry, we're a little all over the place, but there's a pat the verse right before that. So the people grumble. They're saying, Why did you, you know, why didn't you just leave us in Egypt at this point? And then Moses, I love this verse, and I come back to this verse a lot in life because I'm a control freak and I just want to do things, do, do, do. And so just picture it. They're freaking out. The Egyptians are coming, they are tired and hungry and all of the things and questioning God. And Moses said to the people, fear not, stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians who you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you only have to be silent. That is like wild. Well, it's just so powerful. Like the Lord will fight for you. You only have to be silent. And I love that verse, I love that reminder because there are just so many times in life where I am the Israelites, and I'm like, What? Why are you doing this? Why did you put me here? God, thanks. Now I'm just gonna have to take care of it myself, and I'm just gonna have to do this thing. And he's like, just shut up and stop talking.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

Still, I got this.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

And some versions say you only have to be still, and it's like, just let God do his work, step into where he has called you, be where he has you, and let God show up for you and trust.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

Ian, how often is it with us where we uh forget all the things he's done for us in the past? Just like they just forgot all of the plague, you know, that he spared them from all the plagues, or we're like you or if you stop and look back, you can see that like look at all the times that God came through for you. It's wild. So you can trust that he's gonna come through for you again.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

Yeah. So he so Moses says, You need to be still. God tells Moses what to do next, and then what happens?

SPEAKER_01 19:46

And so then they split. Moses raises his staff, he splits the Red Sea, the Israelites start walking through on dry land through the Red Sea, and Pharaoh sends his army after them. So they're chasing after them down this dry land in the middle of the sea, and it says that there are walls of water on either side of them, and then as soon as the last Israelite steps out of the Red Sea and onto the regular land, he tells Moses to hold up his staff again. As soon as Moses holds up his staff, the waters come crashing back down and consume the army of the Egyptians.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Gone.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

Gone.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Just like that.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Wild.

The Red Sea Breakthrough

SPEAKER_00 20:30

Can you even imagine it? And so this is just powerful and also funny in Exodus 1430. It's funny because it's not us. No, in Exodus 1431, Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and they believed in the Lord and in his serve in his servant mode. Wow. And I just wrote as a nail, it's crazy what it takes for them to fear the Lord, but aren't we the same?

SPEAKER_01 21:01

We are.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Yeah, I mean, that passage just blows me away every time. So going back to why God might be taking you the long way, the part we haven't even mentioned yet, and I was doing research in this was if God had taken them the shorter route, not only would they have faced war, it might have been, you know, it was more enticing for them the shorter route, not only would they have faced war, but they never would have gone near the Red Sea.

SPEAKER_01 21:29

Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:30

And so the longer route to them maybe maybe didn't make as much sense. It was long, it was tiring, but it was long enough that they wouldn't be tempted to one turn back to what they were comfortable with. And I think that right there is powerful. Like maybe he's taking you the long way to get you far enough away from where you're comfortable because he doesn't want you to turn back.

SPEAKER_01 21:55

And maybe he's taking you the long way to so that you can avoid something that you don't. Don't know is there.

SPEAKER_00 22:01

Yeah.

Why The Long Way Matters

SPEAKER_01 22:01

Because he wants to save you from that. And sometimes maybe he wants to take you the long way. Because there's something there. Yeah. And he can show you.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

The Red Sea miracle is on this long convoluted path that is so exhausting and hard, but there's something there for you.

SPEAKER_01 22:17

Right. And there's something that you can always go back on. Because if you continue to read through the Old Testament, you can see Moses uses this in other times. And I forget the exact times, but there's other times where the Israelites don't trust God. There's other hardships and things that they go through. And Moses go back and say, We're talking about the God that split the Red Sea for us, guys. Like, so you think he's not going to come through now? He split the Red Sea and consumed the entire Egyptian army. So if they didn't go through that, he wouldn't have that to help them see and restore their faith again in future instances.

Three Takeaways For Real Life

SPEAKER_00 22:49

Yeah. I just could sit in that passage all day. I think it's super cool and super powerful. I guess I would say. We have three points. We kind of just hit on them just now. But one, the long way is often protection, not punishment. So he was protecting the Israelites because they weren't ready for the war that they would have encountered in the shorter way. Right. He knew what they couldn't handle yet.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

And in that, in that, so if they they it could have been where they were facing war with the Philistines, and then Pharaoh could have also changed his mind and sent the Egyptian army behind them and they could have been not only are they in war, they're captured. They're fighting the Philistines and the Egyptians on the other side.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

Two, God sees what you can't. Pharaoh came after them. God knew that was going to happen. He took them where they needed to go so that they could be spared from the Egyptian army. If they had gone the short way, they probably would have been overtaken. And then three, the hard path often leads to great breakthroughs. So that Red Sea moment, it didn't happen on the shortcut. That very miracle required the Israelites to be on that very exact path at that very exact moment. And this one I think is the biggest one for takeaway from me right now that I sit with. It's like when you're in one of those seasons of just like a tumultuous road, and you're like, God, why do you have me here? And you're questioning, you're just like the Israelites. Why did you do this? Why did you take me from this good season just to bring me here? I know we did that with Noah, with the with the case with foster care. Like, why did you put him there just to bring him here? Why did you bring him here just to send him there? And ultimately, God knew the plan the whole time. We do that with seasons with work. Like, why did you put me here just for this to happen? Or I mean, we there's an any number of things, but in all of those, it's like remembering these this Red Sea moment, the long way that God has us on these paths. God is intentional. He doesn't take shortcuts, he takes paths of intention. And so he is intentional with where he has us. So what we're supposed to do in that moment, just like the scripture says, is be still and be obedient and let him lead. And I think that that is one of the hardest reminders, but it's just such a good reminder.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

Yeah. And there could be multiple reasons. He could be sparing, trying to spare you from something. He could be uh teaching you something, he could does it a certain way so that his glory can be on display, so that he can do a miracle, so that it so that things can only point back to him. So there's no other explanation besides him. I mean, what other explanation would you have with the Red Sea splitting? I mean, that is obvious that that was God, right? So there are things in your life that in order for God's glory to be on display, you have to take this certain path that may not be understandable to you. And then there are other times where maybe he's taken you on a certain path to prepare you for something in the future. So there's something you have to go through, something you have to learn, something you have to see so that he can prepare you for the future. And I could say you could even see that in this story with like what I said of later when the Israelites have other challenges, they point back to the Red Sea to show that God took care of them through that so they can trust him in his promise today.

Trust God When It Feels Slow

Closing Thoughts

SPEAKER_00 25:59

Yeah. So if you're in a season right now where things feel slow, confusing, or not what you expected, don't assume automatically that you're off track. Don't assume. I know it's easy to feel forgotten, but don't assume that God forgot you and or that you've taken a wrong turn because this God who led the Israelites the long way is the same God who is leading you. And he sees what you don't. So you just need to trust him, stay the course, and don't give up halfway through something that God is still writing. All right. I think that's all we got this week. We'll catch you next week, guys.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

Stay classy.