the long way

Opening Prayer:  O God, help us to trust you, even when the way is long and the road is hard and there seems to be no end in sight.  Help us to REALLY trust that you are doing something very good in us, so that we will REALLY have your peace.  Amen.

Scripture: Exodus 13:17-22

Journal: Where in your life does it feel like God is leading you on the longer way?  What do you think he is trying to accomplish in the process?  Will you trust him?

Reflection: Why is it that God always seems to lead us by the longer way?  Have you ever wondered about that?  I mean, it’s all over the pages of the scriptures.  One story after another of God trying to do something really good in the hearts and souls of his people by leading them on a long and arduous journey.  It’s almost as if they could never fully arrive at his chosen destination if it were not for the journey that led them there.  

     The short way is too easy, I suppose.  It requires and demands so much less of us: less faith, less dependence, less trust.  It also accomplishes less in us.  Lessons that come easy are almost never transformative.  But the ones that come from the long way are burned into the depths of our souls.

     So if God has you on a longer journey, once again, fear not.  Just trust that he is up to something along the way—something good and beautiful—that could never be accomplished if the journey was short and easy. It’s just the way he works.

Prayer

Closing Prayer:  O Lord, you usually tend to lead us by the longer way.  Help me to embrace it rather than resist it.  Amen.