The Long Way!

You wanted the short way. The quicker and easier one. But God took you the long way around instead. Maybe you're still in it. The path that should have been simple, direct, and over by now. Well, instead, it keeps winding through territory you never planned on crossing. You've wondered more than once. Has God lost the map? Or maybe you're thinking, He's just not in as much of a hurry as you are. There was a short road out of Egypt. It existed. It was right there. And God deliberately didn't take it. Not because he didn't know the way, he made the way. It was because he knew exactly what the road would do to the people walking it. Shalom and welcome. Welcome to True Word, Faith for Life with Dr. Sean. You'll never guess who I am. Yeah, I'm Sean. S-H-A-W-N. If you're not a subscriber, we'd love for you to subscribe, click on the little bell for all notifications. Maybe click the thumbs up while you're at it. Day 68. Day 68. Ain't that something? Here we are. Exodus 13. Israel's finally free, and the first thing God does with their freedom is refuse to take them the easy way. My book, True Word, Faith for Life, is available now. Links below. Get a copy. Get one for somebody who's tired of wondering. They're wondering why their road has been so much longer than it should be. Before we get to today's question, I just have to say again thank you to Susan and Linda. They gave a gift, an extremely generous gift, and it couldn't have been more perfect. But what I love even more is the beautiful note that they wrote to go with it. They mean the world to me, Linda and Susan. Dear friends, oh boy, have we seen a lot of stuff together. I can't thank you enough. Good morning to all of you in chat. Good morning to those waking up in the wee hours in the middle at night. And good morning to those where the sun is up and you're you're ready to rock and roll. And good morning to those who are about to, I should say good night to those who are about to go to bed. It's been a long day.

Today's question. Why didn't God take the short way? Why didn't God take the short way? It's a reasonable question.

God's first instruction to newly free people is about consecration. Every firstborn, human and animal, belongs to me, he says, because I struck the firstborn of Egypt to set you free.

Well, that isn't a suggestion.

Good morning, Miss Tammy. Good morning, Dragon Three Wings, Susan, Nicole, and Joe. Thank you so much for joining us. Good to see you all. Hey, I forgot to mention, this Sunday at 9 30 p.m., I will be preaching, uh, and I'm honored to be to have been asked to do it, um, the third anniversary of Pastor Russell, Russell Wright and his beautiful wife, Miss Kathy, at uh Virginia Creek Ministries. And I'm just beyond honored that uh Pastor Russell would invite me to preach that. So I'll be there. It's a Virginia Creek campground in Surf City, North Carolina. It's a lovely place. It's beautiful. The people are amazing. Church is super comfortable, their air conditioner works great, and uh chairs are comfortable, and it's so clean you could eat off the floor. That's what I like. Anywho, it's wonderful people there. They're wonderful people. I'll be there. Um, and I'd love for you to come. Surf City, North Carolina, Virginia Creek Ministries, Virginia Creek Campground. Anyway, so it's it's this is not a suggestion that God says every firstborn human and animal belongs to me.

Because I struck the firstborn of Egypt to set you free. Not a suggestion. It's woven into daily life.

A sign on your hand, a memorial between your eyes, so that the story of what happened here is never far from your body or your mouth. Then scripture tells us something that could easily be read fast, ticked a box, and and passed over without getting it. When Pharaoh finally let the people go. God did not leave them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though the route was near.

Seems to make sense. The quicker, easier way.

Why not? Because God said plainly, lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt. So God deliberately led them the long way. By the wilderness road toward the Red Sea. In the middle of this, Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him. Honoring an oath that Joseph made. Well, he made his brothers swear to that oath four hundred years earlier. Remember back in Genesis fifty when we talked about it. That when God visited his people, they would carry his bones up out of Egypt with them. Imagine that. And the chapter ends with the image that will define the rest of the journey. Imagine this. The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day and by night. Three things in this chapter carry more weight than a quick box-ticking read suggests. First, the road God refused to take, the way of the Philistines was the direct route. The short way. And also, it also ran straight through territory bristling with war. God knew something about this newly freed people. They didn't know about themselves. A nation of former slaves, only days removed from bondage, would see the first real battle and want to run back to Egypt rather than face the battle. The long way wasn't God being God's being insufficient. It was God protecting a people not yet strong enough for the short road, even though the short road was, on paper, the faster way home. Second, Joseph's bones. That God would visit his people and bring them out. And that when that happened, they'd carry his bones with them. Joseph believed a promise across four centuries he'd never personally witnessed. Oh, his bones would witness it, but he wouldn't. And on this exact journey, Moses makes sure that promise gets kept. Carrying a dead man's bones through the wilderness is proof that faith doesn't require living to see the ending. Oh, we hate patience. Oh how we hate patience.

I don't like that word.

But oh how we need it. Third, if you're counting, the pillar. Not distant, not occasional, present, visible, continuous, day and night, adjusting its form to whatever the moment required. Cloud for shade and direction and daylight. Fire for light and warmth in the darkness. God didn't just hand Israel a map and say, Good luck. He didn't send them off alone. He led them personally, visibly, without interruption. You don't put together this chapter says something worth carrying. This is something worth carrying, no matter who you are. God's root choices, route, if you say it that way. God's route choices. They're shaped. They're shaped by what you can actually survive. Not just by what looks the fastest. Up close. Here's where this gets personal. Because most of us have a version of the short way we wanted and didn't get. Maybe it's the marriage that should have gotten easier by now, but it isn't. It's that relationship that you wanted to go a certain way, and it didn't. And it hasn't. And it might not. Maybe the job. Your work feels so much like more than work. Almost feels like a torture. And you don't know why you're there. Still. Maybe it's the diagnosis that you're still carrying two years after the doctors told you the rough, rough news. And you prayed for it to be gone. I mentioned yesterday that this was the anniversary of my buddy Chris going to his reward. Chris was one of the healthiest people I've I've I knew. He was a stud. Great-looking guy, really good looking. And Chris was an athlete and brilliant and all of that. And I remember he got that diagnosis. And it was a kick in the teeth. We said, Well, we prayed. We had so many people praying. Not that long before he died, he was sitting in my living room. He had just gone to Baltimore to either have a procedure done or the whipple procedure, I think. I mean, he went through so much and then a ride out of their way so he could see me in person. Listen to me preach in person. We did the Kehhala right there. We prayed hard for that diagnosis to go away, but then we started praying that God would give him peace and comfort in his going. We're all healed in the end if we know the Lord. And that is not hard. It's not hard to do when we're just talking about doing it. But when we're living it. Maybe it's the door that should have opened. You've been praying and praying and praying. You're like, man, why what's going on? I figured God would be in this. God would want this. And the door still says stays shut. And you've been praying for years. And you just don't understand why. I mean it's not even cracked. The door's not even cracked. Somewhere in the waiting. Somewhere in the waiting. It's easy to assume the long way. Means either God, he doesn't care, or he doesn't know what he's doing. I assure you. God very much knows what he's doing. By the way, good morning, Sean. Spelled the correct way. This chapter may be the opposite of what we imagine our paradigm. This chapter says the opposite may be true. The long way may be evidence of exactly how much he knows about you, about what you could actually survive right now, versus what would send you running right back to the very exact bondage he just delivered you from. Maybe it's a temptation, an addiction. And he brought you away from all of those temptations, or maybe just that one. Somebody in your life might be doing for you right now what Joseph did for Israel. Believing a promise they'll never personally see firsthand. They'll never see it finished. And if that's you today, still waiting, still believing something you might not see completed in your own lifetime, you're in good company. Here's the part that should actually settle something in you today. The pillar never left. Not once. The whole journey, the pillar never left, day or night. Whatever long journey you're walking right now, the presence leading you through it hasn't stepped away. Even on the nights it doesn't feel like anything is visibly moving. Yeshua is in this text. Good to see you, John. Good to have you, man. What a blessing. Send me a message to TrueWordfaith for Life. Any of you can do this, by the way, if you have a prayer request or anything like that, unless you have my personal number, which some of you do. Um trueordfaithforlife.com slash contact, or just hit the contact button up at the top. You can fill it out, or you can leave me a voicemail, but it's only two minutes. I pay, so you don't have to, so don't worry about it. But it's two minutes, so you better get to the point. Look, Yeshua is in the text. Every firstborn belonging to God, because of the firstborn struck in Egypt, points straight at a single firstborn who would belong to God completely, given willingly, so that everyone else could be redeemed. Paul calls Yeshua the firstborn over all creation, the firstborn from the dead. That's language that reaches straight back to this chapter's consecration language. Did you know that? Would you have known it if you were flying through this? If you're just driving and fifth gear pedal the metal. The firstborn from the dead. The firstborn over all creation.

Do you get the tether? This chapter.

Right where we are now. Wow. I want you to think about the road God refused to take. Israel wasn't ready for that short way. The way they ran straight through war, they weren't ready. In the same way Yeshua's own path to the cross wasn't the short way either. He could have called down twelve legions of angels and ended his torture and his murder instantly. If I were him, I wouldn't have done it for me. I wouldn't. I'd look down at me and go, not worth it. Let me go right back to heaven. He walked the long way through betrayal, through trial, through the full weight of what redemption actually cost. Because the short way would have left the real problem unsolved. That problem is our hopelessness and sin, and our hurts and habits and impatience and hangups and all of the things. It's the pillar that never left Israel. Day or night, cloud and fire, finds its fulfillment in a presence that never leaves those who belong to him either. I will never leave you nor forsake you, he says. God. God led Israel the long way because he knew the short way would cost them. He led Yeshua the long way to the cross because he knew what the short way would cost you. The same way now, present, visible to those who look. Never departing. The long way was never abandonment. In every single instance, it was love. Taking the longer road on purpose, because the shorter one would have cost too much, you say. What do I do now? What do I do now? What do I do now? I need to know what to do. Okay, if you're ready, I'll tell you there's some things to do, some action steps. You can take them. They're not impossible. God didn't make the way impossible. He didn't make it easy, but he didn't make it impossible. You can do it. First, name the short way that you wanted that God didn't give you. God didn't give you. You wanted it. You wanted that easier way. Maybe it was the job. Maybe it was the spouse or the mate. Maybe it was the house. Maybe it was the diagnosis. Name it. Name the short way that you wanted that God didn't give you. Be honest about the resentment too. If you have resentment, he can hear he can handle that. Be honest about it. If it's there, instead of pretending you've already made peace with it, tell God about it. Name it. Second if you're counting. You ready? Consider that the long way might be protecting you from a version of the fight you're not actually ready for yet. Ask God directly what strength this detour might be building in you. That the short the short road never would have built that strength that you need. Ask God directly. What is it I need? What do I need more of? I need I need this because look, it's it's very easy. It's very easy to not ask why. It's easier to not have this conversation with God. I see you, Nicole. I'm praying for you by name. Ask God directly. You can. What an honor. But we run from prayer. Ask him, what strength do I need to develop? The strength that's gained only in this longer detour that the short way never would have given me. Third, look for the pillar. Look for the pillar. It hasn't left. Whatever form his presence has taken in your life right now, cloud by day or night, by fire by night. Look for it deliberately this week instead of assuming it's absent just because the road feels long. I have for you today a challenge and a choice. What short way have you resented God for not giving you? Is it possible the long way you're walking right now is protecting you from something you're not yet strong enough to survive? And be honest about it. Whose faith believed long before you and maybe never seen fulfilled in their own lifetime are you currently walking in the answer to? And here's your choice tonight. Keep assuming that the long way means God is distant or confused. Or trust the same wisdom that avoided the Philistines. That road. Trust that it's that's it's it's still choosing your route on purpose, out of love, not neglect. Pray with me. Father, in the name of Yeshua, thank you that the long way has never once meant that you'd forgotten us, that your route choices come from love, not from distance. Thank you for the pillar that never left and for the presence that still leads us day and night. Even when the road feels endless. For everyone listening right now, resenting the long way today. Help them see the wisdom in it. For everyone carrying a promise somebody else believed before them. Give them strength to keep carrying it. In Yeshua's name. Amen. Maybe the long way. Maybe the long way that you've been on is about to lead you somewhere you didn't expect today. Straight to the one. Straight to the one who's been walking beside you the whole time, whether you notice the pillar or not. If you're ready to come to Jesus, if you're tired of just not doing it, not making the choice, fence sitters need not apply. When that sky splits from east to west, when the Lord comes back, he's not coming back as a baby. He's coming back as a conquering king. And those who are in him, those who have placed their faith in him, will dwell with him forever. And those who don't, their future, their eternity is horrible. Make the decision not because you're trying to escape pain. Make the decision because you're choosing the Lord. I know you're not perfect. If you only knew how not perfect I am. And he forgave me. He helps me. He has mercy on me. He shows me grace. Maybe your dad or your mom or whatever authority figure you had growing up wasn't the way that I consistently tell you that God is. But you in your mind have pictured God just like that parent, just like that friend. It's time to let go of all that. He's not them. He's not them. Pray this with me. Settle it today, right now. Right where you are. You don't have to close your eyes, you don't have to bow your head, you don't have to do any of those things. Just pray with me right now. Yeshua, I need you. That's Jesus. That's his real name. Yeshua, I need you. I believe you died for me and rose from the grave. I surrender my life to you today. Forgive me, fill me, lead me. I'm yours. In your name. Amen. If you only had any idea how powerful that change in in heart, that change in paradigm, that change in your soul actually is. If you just prayed that welcome to the family. Yes, we're dysfunctional now, but we'll be we'll be made perfect when the Lord returns. I I want to help you any way I can. Go to true wordfaithforlife.com slash contact or click on the little button that says contact and let me know. I'll help you ever any way and every way that I can. We've done it for countless people. Let me do it for you. If not, I can give you some ideas, help you find a church, whatever it is. Look, if this is your first time ever tuning in, and maybe it is. If this is your first time, we've been walking through scripture. We're calling it through the Bible in a year, walking the story of God. We've been walking through scripture chronologically since Genesis. Start at day one. And walk it with us from the beginning. You can still listen to the new ones. We're on every podcast thing you can imagine. If you listen on Spotify, Heart Radio, iTunes, and you know, Apple Podcasts, whatever. Um, all of them. You name it, we're on it. 20 some. We're there. I'm happy to have you there too. Click on the follow or add to your list or your whatever it's called, wherever, whichever one. And you can listen to them either way. There was a short road out of Egypt. God didn't take it. He didn't take the short, easy road. Look so easy. Not because he didn't know the way he made the way, but because he knew what the short way would cost his people. The pillar led by day, the fire led by night, and it never once departed. Whatever long way you're walking right now, neither has he. He has not departed, and he never will. They've been resenting this long road that their life has taken. The long way that their life has taken. Tell them the long way was never abandonment. It was love. Choosing the road that could actually be survived. I'm going to pray a blessing over you. I'm going to pray it first in the language of the Lord. Hebrew. When he spoke, he spoke in this language. Yeshua spoke in this language. I'm going to pray it first in Hebrew, and then I'm going to translate it for you. Are you ready? I want you to receive this in his heavenly name. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Until tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Shalom Bishem Yeshua. Shalom Aleikum.