Etham

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, declares the Lord." -Isaiah 55:8

So what is Etham?  Don't worry, I didn't know what Etham was either until a couple of days ago when I was doing a Priscilla Shirer bible study called One in a million.  This is a great study that gives so much insight about God leading us through our lives.  But anyway,  Etham was the place where God led the Israelites to camp right after He rescued them from Egypt.  It was a place right at the edge of the wilderness.  From this spot they could see in one direction the most direct route to the Promise Land.  In the other direction was the wilderness.  This is where Isaiah 55:8 comes in.  God's thoughts and ways were clearly different than what anyone else's would have been.  Who in their right mind would choose going in the opposite direction of the destination and head off into the wilderness?  But God could see the whole picture.  It says in Exodus 13:17-18  God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near because the people might of changed their minds when they saw war and would want to return to Egypt.  It would be good for us to remember this story when life brings us in a direction that doesn't make sense.  As long as you are trying to lead a life that honors God and you are not living in open rebellion, don't assume hardship means punishment.   God may just want you to experience Him in a way you never would have otherwise.

"The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds" -Psalm 145:17