In Exodus 13:17-18, the Israelites are exiting from Egypt. Instead of God taking them by way of the shortest route, the Lord made them turn toward the Red Sea.
Verse 17 says the reasoning behind the directional move was God thought, "The people might change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt". So, to build their faith in His protective ability, God manufactured a moment to demonstrate His greatness. Turning the Israelites toward the Red Sea would trap them with the Sea in front and the Egyptian army in pursuit. He was setting an ambush by which Egypt would fall.
The path to our destiny is never as direct as we would like. It seems God prefers to choose the long way for us to enter our promised land. However, because He knows what we can't handle, maybe we should rejoice in the elongated journey which often traps us between a "rock & a hard place"- because those are the spots used to confirm the Divine ability upon which we will ever depend when we enter our land of promises. Live right, live well...
