Discovering Destiny (Part 14): God Leads You Out Before He Leads You In

https://youtu.be/1dwJJYrReYE?si=ETyO6OJnJAWAOiNg

Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.

Yesterday, in our “Discovering Destiny” series, we watched 430 years of slavery end in one night. The same mouth that said NO said GO; the people who held them captive loaded them down with silver and gold; and the Bible called the people who walked out “the armies of the Lord.” Today we find out what God did with His army on the very first morning of their freedom, because the first thing God did with a free people was pick their route. And the route He picked will change the way you see the road you are on right now.

Key scriptures for this year:

2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”

Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”

1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Scripture we will study today:

Exodus 13:17 ERV“Pharaoh made the people leave Egypt. God did not let the people take the road leading to the land of the Philistines. That road by the Mediterranean Sea is the shortest way, but God said, ‘If the people go that way they will have to fight. Then they might change their minds and go back to Egypt.'”

Exodus 13:18 ERV“So God led them another way through the desert by the Red Sea. The Israelites were dressed for war when they left Egypt.”

Exodus 13:21 ERV“The Lord led the way. During the day, he used a tall cloud to lead the people. And during the night, he used a tall column of fire to lead the way.”

Supporting scriptures:

Exodus 13:22 ERV“The cloud was always with them during the day, and the column of fire was always with them at night.”

Deuteronomy 8:2 ERV“And you must remember the entire trip that the Lord your God has led you through these 40 years in the desert. He was testing you. He wanted to make you humble. He wanted to know what is in your heart. He wanted to know if you would obey his commands.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 ERV“The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it.”

Psalm 32:8 TPT“I hear the Lord saying, ‘I will stay close to you, instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life. I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with my eyes as your guide. So don’t make it difficult; don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before. Don’t make me tug you and pull you along. Just come with me!'”

Setting the Stage:

They are out. Midnight came, Pharaoh broke, and the armies of the Lord marched out of Egypt carrying the riches of the nation that enslaved them. Now comes the very first decision of their free lives, and notice that God makes it for them. Two roads led to the Promised Land. The coastal road through Philistine country was the short one, roughly a two-week walk. God looked at the short road and said, “Not that one.”

Think about that. The same God who kept the calendar down to the very day now chooses the longer road on purpose. If God’s route for your life has been taking longer than you expected, this message is for you.

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. The Shortest Road Is Not Always God’s Road.

Look at the map for a moment. From Egypt to Canaan along the coast was a couple of weeks of walking. The desert route was long, dry, and pointed straight at a body of water with no bridge. Any travel agent in Egypt would have picked the coastal road. God picked the desert. And Exodus 13:17 does not say God suggested it, recommended it, or put it to a vote. It says God “did not let” them take the short way. Some roads in your life are not blocked by the devil. They are blocked by your Father, because He loves you.

How this applies to you:

— Exodus 13:17 ERV says, “God did not let the people take the road leading to the land of the Philistines.” The blocked road was not the enemy fighting them. It was their Heavenly Shepherd leading them.

— Not every closed door is an attack. Some doors are closed by the mercy of God.

— When God’s route makes no sense to you, it still makes perfect sense to Him. From where you stand, you can see the distance. From where He sits, He can see the danger. God can see the pitfalls on your shortcut that you cannot see. All you see is a shorter path. God sees the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10).

— The short road would have gotten them to the promise faster, but it would have taken them through a fight that would have sent them running back to slavery. 

— God knows that there are some things you are just not ready for, even if you THINK you are. These slaves were not ready to fight, and God knew it.

— You may be interested in getting there fast. God is interested in getting you there, period.

— A delay in the route is not a denial of the destination.

— There are many things that we want, and even things that we prayed for, that God (by His mercy), kept us from, because He knows better than us.

— I can look back at doors that slammed in my face, opportunities I begged God for and did not get, and thank Him for every one of them today. What felt like rejection was divine protection. One day you will thank God for the roads He refused to let you take.

2. God Will Not March You Into A Fight You Are Not Ready For.

Why the detour? God does not leave us guessing; He tells us His reasoning right in the verse: “If the people go that way they will have to fight. Then they might change their minds and go back to Egypt.” God was not afraid of the Philistines. He had just dismantled Egypt, the superpower of the age, in ten rounds. The Philistines were not the threat. The retreat was. God knew that a war in week two would send a people with a slave mindset running back to their chains. So God routed His army around a battle their faith could not handle yet.

How this applies to you:

— Exodus 13:18 ERV says, “The Israelites were dressed for war when they left Egypt.” They had the equipment but not the mindset. You can be dressed for a battle you are not yet built for yet.

— Looking the part does not mean you are ready. God knows the difference between how you look and what you are ready for.

— God did not route them around the Philistines because the enemy was too strong for Him. He routed them because their faith was too new. When you are a baby Christian, God protects the promise from premature fights.

— 1 Corinthians 10:13 ERV says God “will not let you be tempted more than you can bear.” The God who limits what reaches you is the same God who routes where you walk. Both are His love in action.

— The detour is not punishment. It is protection.

— Their freedom was one day old. God gives your freedom time to grow up before He hands it a war. There are assignments in your future that require a faith you are still developing, and God loves you too much to schedule the fight before the faith.

— It took one night to get Israel out of Egypt. It took a wilderness to get Egypt out of Israel. Some of you are not waiting on God to open the next door. God is waiting on the old mindset to die in the desert.

3. You Are Not Lost. You Are Being Led.

Now look at how they traveled. Exodus 13:21 says, “The Lord led the way.” Not an angel out front. Not a map in Moses’ hand. Yesterday we saw that on the night they left, the Lord watched over them HIMSELF. Today, that same Lord takes point on the march: a tall cloud by day and a column of fire by night. Somewhere in that crowd, somebody looked at the sand stretching in every direction and thought, “We are lost.” No, you are not. You cannot be lost when God is doing the navigating. And here is what I do not want you to miss: the presence showed up on the long road, not the short one.

How this applies to you:

— Exodus 13:21 ERV says, “The Lord led the way.” You cannot be lost while you are following God.

— Exodus 13:22 ERV says the cloud was “always” with them by day and the fire was “always” with them at night. God’s guidance was not occasional. There was never one hour of that journey without His presence in view.

— Psalm 32:8 TPT says, “I will stay close to you, instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life.” And then God adds, “don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before.” God knew the route would stretch you. He asked for your trust, not your understanding.

— God takes us down roads that expand our thinking and grow our faith.

— The cloud does not follow you. You follow the cloud.

— This is the FOLLOW part of FIND, FOLLOW, FINISH. You do not discover your destiny in one download. You discover it the way Israel crossed the desert: one cloud-movement at a time, one step of obedience at a time. Walking with God is a journey of faith, as you tap into God’s grace.

4. The Wilderness Is Part Of The Plan.

Let me close with the part that will reframe your hardest season. The desert was not an accident, a wrong turn, or the enemy hijacking the trip. Exodus 13:18 says, “So God led them another way through the desert.” God led them there. The wilderness was on God’s itinerary. Decades later, God told them to remember “the entire trip that the Lord your God has led you.” Led. Every step of the long way was still His leadership. And what did the wilderness produce? It is where a crowd of former slaves learned how to be the army heaven already said they were.

How this applies to you:

— Deuteronomy 8:2 ERV says God led them through the desert because “He wanted to know what is in your heart.” The wilderness was not where God abandoned them. It was where God developed them.

— Your wilderness is not proof you missed your destiny. Many times, it IS the road TO your destiny.

— Think about what happened on that long road. The manna fell in the wilderness. The water came out of the rock in the wilderness. The covenant came in the wilderness. The tabernacle, where God’s presence moved into the middle of the camp, was built in the wilderness. Some things God wants to give you can only be received on the long road.

— Do you remember in yesterday’s Message when they were still slaves, and God called them the armies of God? They were not really an army yet. Well, guess what? God will speak to you about your to-be stage from your right-now stage, but then he will process you to actually become what He said. After the wilderness season, when they were ready to go into the Promised Land, they had become an army. In other words, they had become what God said. This is the same way God works with us.

— God is not just taking you to the promise. He is making you into the person who can carry it.

— Do not despise the middle. Between “out of Egypt” and “into the promise” there is a stretch of road with your name on it, and God is on that road with you.

— God leads you out before He leads you in, and He never leaves you in between.

That’s enough for today.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You that the God who led me out is still leading me!

The shortest road is not always Your road, and I trust Your routing!

Every door You closed on me was closed in mercy!

You will not march me into a fight I am not ready for!

My detour is not punishment; it is protection!

I am following the cloud by day and the fire by night!

I cannot be lost while I am following You!

My wilderness is not a dead end; it is the road to my destiny!

You are not just leading me to the promise; You are preparing me to carry it!

This is THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!