The Shortest Path may not always be the best

In the Bible there is a story about the Israelite's, where it took them forty long years to reach their promised land, which otherwise would have taken only 11 days (Deuteronomy 3:1-3).  It is also stated that God took them through a longer path since the Israelite's were not ready to take on their Promised Land on their own and would have become discouraged with the wars with the existing nations.

Many times we get frustrated and angry when we see delays in our path of life.  Delays or hindrances seem unacceptable to us, since we are a rushing generation. The shortest path is our preference.  However, the shortest path may not always be the best path for us.

Many years back, I remember the time after graduating from High school; I had not got admission into the top engineering schools in India. I was very disappointed, and sad. However, I joined a local college and was determined to give it another try, after studying for an additional year.  A year later with God’s grace and lot of hard work, I got admission into one of the top engineering schools, the Indian Institute of Technology and in 1991, I graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree.

Now as I look back, I wondered why I did not get admission immediately after high school. It was then I realized something very powerful. I was reminded that when I was in my final year in college, the Fall of 1990, was when I met for the first time a family friend who became my wife, when her parents had moved into the city where I was studying. Had I got admission the year immediately after school or in a school in another city, I would have never met her in my life. Our path of life may have never crossed. We would have gone in different directions. It was just a delay of one year, which if I had missed, I would have missed the most wonderful person, who has been my biggest blessing from God.  Today I thank God for giving me an awesome wife. Yes indeed, the shortest path was not the best for me, in this instance, since God had someone unique waiting for me.

One might say this was just an unique coincidence.  However, I would encourage you to look around. Even nature tells us to wait for the right time, rather than rush into things.  Try taking a baby out of a womb, before its due time; one will get a crippled baby, instead of a healthy baby. God always desires to give us the best, if we wait for his perfect will and his perfect time, anything that is done outside that time zone will create disharmony and chaos in our life.

Today, if you are in some crossroads of life or you are going through some struggles of life, I encourage you to recognize that Jesus is in full control of your life, provided you believe in Him and his sacrifice for you on the cross. Then you can be rest assured that He knows what is best for you.  So today if you see delays in your path, recognize that something good is waiting to happen at the end of the tunnel.  If you are in God's will, the journey may seem tough, painful, not make sense and may seem long, but do not despair there is joy everlasting, if you trust in Jesus in all your ways.