Trusting God When the Path Gets Weird

There was a moment in the Israelites’ journey when the path forward just… stopped.

They were heading exactly where God had called them to go, doing all the right things, and then they hit Edom. In Numbers 20:14–21, Moses basically sent a very polite message saying, “Hey, we’ll pass through quietly. We won’t touch anything. We won’t even drink your water. We’ll be great neighbors for five minutes, promise.”

Edom’s response? A hard no. Actually, two hard no’s. And just in case there was any confusion, they showed up with a large army, like, “And we mean it.”

At that point, you’d expect a little frustration. Maybe a “God, what is going on here?” moment. But Moses doesn’t argue, doesn’t push through, and doesn’t spiral. He just accepts it and keeps moving, trusting God has another way.

Honestly, that’s where this hits home. Because we love it when God’s plan feels like open doors and green lights. We do not love it when it feels like we just walked straight into a “road closed” sign… with cones… and construction… and no detour map.

But following God doesn’t mean every door swings open. Sometimes obedience leads to a “no,” and it’s not because you missed it. It’s because God is still leading, just not the way you expected.

In John 16:33, we’re reminded that trouble is part of the journey, but we’re not walking through it alone. So if you’re hitting resistance right now, don’t assume you’re off track. You might be exactly where you’re supposed to be, just taking the scenic route God already planned.