The shortest route isn’t always the best. When God led Israel out of Egypt, God figured Israel would not engage in battling their way through the land of the Philistines, so He took them on the long route…..the forty-year route. Through it all, God kept them safe, but they still grumbled about everything else, especially food. God never failed them, though they withdrew from Him time and again. Has God taken you on a detour from your initial planned route? Was it unwelcome at the time? Is it still uncomfortable? That’s because God has something to teach us. Remember His primary goal for us – to help us conform more and more to the mind of Christ. If He needs to take us on a different path, we need to meet Him in a new way as He develops our faith in Him.