When Pharaoh let the people go, God led them not by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God said, Lest the people change their purpose when they see war and return to Egypt. – Exodus 13:17, Amplified Bible (AMP)

God often paints a picture of the Promised Land He wants to give us, but then He waits awhile before inserting us into that picture. We usually find this frustrating, for once we know what the Promised Land looks like, we cannot help but want it now. Getting it now, however, might be the worst thing for us; there may be pitfalls along the way to obtaining the prize, and we may not yet be spiritually, emotionally, or physically ready to face those challenges. If we encountered those pitfalls now, we might be so frightened by them that we forsake God’s Promised Land for a lesser land that is not as hard to reach.

God knows our character flaws better than we do, and He knows they will make us run from the challenges that stand between us and our Promised Land. Before we can complete the journey, He will need to chisel those flaws out of our character. Our job is to wait patiently and to be faithful while God completes the sculpture, and if we will, we will reap the reward of the Promised Land at exactly the time we are able to receive it. When we look back on the journey that got us there, we’ll realize that the wait was necessary – and not nearly as long as it seemed while we were going through it.

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