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,"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_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34485,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-we-condemning-those-who-never-heard-the-gospel\/","url_meta":{"origin":94886,"position":0},"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":94672,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-you-the-wrong-person-for-the-job\/","url_meta":{"origin":94886,"position":1},"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":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":95629,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/unintentional-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":94886,"position":3},"title":"Unintentional Sin","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally ... then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed\" (Leviticus 4:27-28). Leviticus 4 deals with unintentional sin. Not rebellion, not defiance, just the stuff we do without\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":34157,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-bring-an-agnostic-friend-to-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":94886,"position":4},"title":"How do I bring an agnostic friend to Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello. I thank you again for the opportunity to ask questions and get them answered so promptly! I am debating with my close friends, so my question is how do I bring my agnostic friend to Christ? Here is a discussion we are having at the moment and please\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":[]},{"id":23304,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-make-my-relationship-more-god-centered\/","url_meta":{"origin":94886,"position":5},"title":"How do I make my relationship more God-centered?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I know romantic relationships should be God-centered, but I'm having trouble doing this with my boyfriend. He's a Christian, but not too strong of a Christian. I tried to put God into our relationship by suggesting reading a Bible chapter together each day. We read only two times. I\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":[]}],"_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}]}}