Wandering?

Exodus 13:17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”

Do you ever reach those seasons in life when you wonder why God just doesn't make it easier on you and give you some shortcuts? I am in one of those right now as I type. I know he loves me and I am eager to serve Him. There seems to be more a lot more questions than answers though when it comes to where and how he wants me to follow Him. And all of this when I sense His covering on my life more intimately than ever....it does not logically add up, does it?

God used the verse in Exodus 13:17 above to help me understand why I must wander in these desert times. He knows that he must prepare me for the ministries that lie ahead for me in my life. He says in the above passage that he has to prepare the Israelites by building up their intestinal fortitude of faith by allowing them to wander.......if their faith is untested and immature it will fail when the drums of war sound. I think it is safe to assume that there will be times in our life where we can see a shortcut to the ministry calling we feel God pointing us to and he leaves us wandering because we are not ready yet. He allows us to frustrate ourselves in our own toiling until we come to the end of ourselves and sit and rest in His Glory.That is when He can have affective ministry through us...once we have heard Him, Follow Him and give Him the reigns of our lives.

Scholars use a big word called sanctification to describe this process...how about we call it God's staging ground for effective ministry! Go and make war as we are called, but do not run ahead of God's plans and preparation.