Martha Olawale

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Numbers 23:19

When the Israelites reached Kadesh, they had to pass through Edom for them to continue their journey to the promised land. Knowing the danger of walking through the city without permission, Moses sent a message to the king. He pleaded with him in Numbers 20:17 “Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” However, despite the promise not to touch or do anything, the Israelites’ request to walk through Edom was denied, and an army came against them.

We’ve all reached our Kadesh at some point in life. A place where God’s promises for our life seem like just an Edom away from our reach. And, although we can almost see a glimpse of where we believe He’s leading us, we have an army standing between us and walking through the king’s highway. Regardless of all efforts to tiptoe around the menacing opposition to our destiny, Edom stands as a barrier between us and getting there.

I can imagine what was going through Moses’ mind and the perplexity of the situation. He just got over the water scarcity and bickering of the children of Israel and now this. After all, God made them the promise and he was only following God and trusting Him to get them to the promised land. Why can’t He fight off the army of Edom as He did with the army of Egypt? Why can’t He plague the people of the city as He did the Egyptians?

Like the Israelites, it’s easy for us to doubt the efficacy of God’s promise when we reach our Kadesh. And we plead with the enemy to help us pass through a road that is not on God’s map for the journey. Because we can see the King’s highway ahead of us, we want the shortcut to where God is leading us and wish God will do more to crush the opposition. But He waits for us to accept the route He maps for us as He is committed to getting us to where He leads us.

God’s promises are stamped by Heaven and no Edom can stop them. Everything God said He will do, He will do. Just because the king’s highway, looks like a faster route to where He is leading us does not mean if we don’t go through it, we’ll never make it. Regardless of the army that stands between you and your destiny, God has a better plan for you to get there. Edom is not the end of your story; it is just a chapter in it and the Almighty stands strong before you to guide you to the promised land.