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“Even when there is a tempting shortcut, there is never a substitute for the long way around.”

A thought by Christine Caine from her book, Unexpected: Leave Fear Behind, Move Forward in Faith, Embrace the Adventure (p. 176). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Oh, the temptations that are out there.  But oh, the success that is out there.

Christine says, “God uses the desert roads of our lives to protect us and to prepare us. Sometimes our long road takes the form of anonymity, obscurity, long hours, or uncomfortable conditions. It’s that place where we think, Whatever God had for me, I’ve missed it. Or, I feel parched and empty and far from God. Or, I’ve blown it and now God has no use for me. Or, I thought God gave me a dream and a promise, but maybe I got it all wrong. Long roads are also where the waiting can wear us down and dim our hopes. We wait years and pray fervently . . . for the salvation of a loved one, healing in our marriage, a breakthrough in our struggles, an open door to our dreams—all to no avail. On the long road, sometimes all we can think is, God, have you forgotten me?” 

She later says, “If you have a dream, then chances are you’re on a long road. Which means sooner or later, the enemy will mess with you and tempt you to take a shortcut. In those times, you simply must trust that God is protecting you and preparing you because he is always for you—never against you. (Isaiah 49:16) And he’s not only for you, he’s gone on before you. How do I know?  Read this charge that Moses leveled against the Israelites: ‘In spite of this, you did not trust in the LORD your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.’ Deuteronomy 1:32–33, emphasis added”

“God is always out ahead of his people. The problem, with the Israelites and with us, is a lack of trust. Don’t repeat the Israelites’ mistake. Trust that God is always way ahead of you, protecting you from something you can’t see or aren’t yet prepared to handle: 

 • A destructive relationship 
• A toxic work environment 
• A ruinous business partnership 
• A tragedy of epic proportions 
• A big responsibility”

 She then says, “In every area of my life, the long way around with Jesus as my GPS has always proven better than any shortcut I could have taken without Jesus. I can’t tell you how many times Nick’s shortcut doubled the distance and the time of our trip. That’s not what God wants for our life journeys. Jesus is our tried-and-true GPS, and we don’t want to tune him out to gamble on a shortcut.”

Will you follow God’s prodding, his timing and trust him?  Will you?

Yes, yes!
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