by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
“Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, ‘The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt’<\/em>” (Exodus 3:17).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
God intentionally avoided the shortest route, not because He’s inefficient, but because He knows His people. He knows what they’re ready for and what they’re not. The long way wasn’t punishment; it was protection.<\/p>\n
This hits home because we often want God to take us the quickest way possible. We want the straight line, the fast answer, the immediate breakthrough. But sometimes God leads us on a slower path because He’s shielding us from battles we’re not yet prepared to face. He’s not delaying you, He’s developing you.<\/p>\n
Think about the areas where you feel like God is taking the long way around. What if He’s actually being kind? What if He’s guiding you in a way that keeps you from running back to old patterns or old fears while growing you in the process? God’s route may not be the shortest, but it’s always the wisest. Trust the path He chooses.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Zeke Flores “Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, ‘The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt’” (Exodus 3:17). God intentionally avoided the shortest route,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[41],"class_list":["post-94886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-life"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94672,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-you-the-wrong-person-for-the-job\/","url_meta":{"origin":94886,"position":0},"title":"Are You the Wrong Person for the Job?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"The Moses said to the Lord, 'Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your serant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue'\" (Exodus 4:10). Moses basically tells God, \"You picked the wrong\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34485,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-we-condemning-those-who-never-heard-the-gospel\/","url_meta":{"origin":94886,"position":1},"title":"Are We Condemning Those Who Never Heard the Gospel?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford I received the following question: \"I heard one yesterday I've been pondering. The man said that unless you believe in God you will be lost. So what about all those people who have never had the opportunity? I have him some answers but I'd be interested\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Yagua_Tribesman-300x253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":91540,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/even-a-caveman-can-do-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":94886,"position":2},"title":"Even a Caveman Can Do It","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores Remember the old insurance commercials that claimed to be so simple, \"even a caveman can do it\"? We had become so \"politically correct\" that no one wants to insult anyone else, so Geico came up with a victim they were sure we could poke fun at with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94659,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/shaped-by-difficulties\/","url_meta":{"origin":94886,"position":3},"title":"Shaped by Difficulties","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, 'Because I drew him out of the water'\" (Exodus 2:10). Moses' story starts with a mix of heartbreak and hope. His mother has to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96035,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/appointed-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":94886,"position":4},"title":"Appointed Times","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"Yahweh's appointed times ... these are My appointed times\" (Leviticus 23:2). Leviticus 23 outlines Israel's festivals. These weren't random holidays; they were God-designed rhythms that reminded the people of His goodness, His provision, and His presence. God built celebration, rest, and remembrance into their calendar. We need\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53739,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-a-christian-serve-god-when-the-military-rules-are-not-conducive-to-serving-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":94886,"position":5},"title":"How can a Christian serve God when the military rules are not conducive to serving God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My husband is a soldier in the military. Currently, he is on a 14-month deployment (technically, he's overseas for 9 months and training during the other time). He is adamant about not reenlisting being that he has not been able to worship, nor will he be able to unless\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94886\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}