20/09/2026
God Knows Which Way is Best
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.” 18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. Exodus 13:17-18
When Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel delivered His people from Egypt, He guided them not to the most obvious way, or the most direct way, or the most simplest, or the easiest way which is “the way of the sea” or “the way of Horus” or “the way of the Philistines.” The reason why God did it because it was not His way. God knew that if they stayed near the sea, they would face fierce resistance. Northern Sinai was a militarized zone. The Egyptian army maintained a strong military presence in the region, protected by a series of fortresses and a long, wide, deep canal. There were also Philistines to consider. And then even if the Israelites manage to fight their way through, they would still face the Canaanites when they reached the Promised Land.
God knew that the Israelites were in no shape to fight. They were not prepared to face such strong opposition, either spiritually or militarily. Exodus 13:18c says that they were not “equipped for battle.”
God led the Israelites in the exact opposite direction. He took them south, not north, away from Canaan, into the Wilderness. It was not the most obvious, not the shortest, not the most direct way. It was the best way because it was God’s way.
God always knows which way is the best. We may travel a long and winding road, often we doubt whether God’s way really is the best way. But God knows what He is doing, as He always does. Whatever God happens to be doing right now, do you believe that it is all the best? Even when we are tempted to doubt whether God knows what He is doing, we are called to believe that His way is the best way.
Romans 8:28 encourages us that God’s way is the best “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”