November 11, 2020 7:00 pm
As his peers were promoted one by one, Benjamin couldn’t help but feel a little envious. “How come you’re not a manager yet? You deserve it,” friends told him. But Ben decided to leave his career to God. “If this is God’s plan for me, I’ll just do my job well,” he replied.
Several years later, Ben was finally promoted. By then, his added experience enabled him to do his job confidently and won him the respect of subordinates. Some of his peers, meanwhile, were still struggling with their supervisory responsibilities, as they had been promoted before they were ready. Ben realized God had taken him the “long way around” so that he would be better prepared for his role.
When God led the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 13:17–18), He chose a longer way because the “shortcut” to Canaan was fraught with risk. The longer journey, note Bible commentators, also gave them more time to strengthen themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually for subsequent battles.
The shortest way isn’t always the best. Sometimes God lets us take the longer route in life, whether it’s in our career or other endeavors, so that we will be better prepared for the journey ahead. When things don’t seem to happen quickly enough, we can trust in God—the one who leads and guides us.
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Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.
Today's reading, titled The Long Way, was written by Lesley Coe. As his peers were promoted one by one, Benjamin couldn't help but feel a little envious. How come you're not a manager yet? You deserve it, friends told him. But Ben decided to leave his career to God. If this is God's plan for me, I'll just do my job well, he replied. Several years later, Ben was finally promoted. By then, his added experience enabled him to do his job confidently and won him the respect of subordinates.
Some of his peers, meanwhile, were still struggling with their supervisory responsibilities, as they had been promoted before they were ready. Ben realized God had taken him the long way around, so that he would be better prepared for his role. When God led the Israelites out of Egypt in the book of Exodus, he chose a longer way because the shortcut to Canaan was fraught with risk. The longer journey, note Bible commentators, also gave them more time to strengthen themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually for subsequent battles.
The shortest way isn't always the best. Sometimes God lets us take the longer route in life, whether it's in our career or other endeavors, so that we'll be better prepared for the journey ahead. When things don't seem to happen quickly enough, we can trust in God, the one who leads and guides us. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Exodus chapter 13, verses 17 and 18. When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, if they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.
The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle. Let's pray. Father, You have wired us with a desire to grow and advance in life and in our careers.
But when things don't happen quickly enough, we can grow angry and bitter. Please grant us the patience to trust in You and in Your sovereign plan and to live in peace knowing that You are always at work in us and preparing us for what You have in store for us. Thank You, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-01-28 12:31:10 / 2024-01-28 12:32:30 / 1
