Sermon Recap
Stay in the Shade
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Brian Hunter · August 2, 2026
“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near… But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea… And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.”
Scripture Referenced
Recap
This was a Senior Sunday send-off, several Tribe students heading to college this fall were prayed over before Brian got into Exodus 13. God had just delivered Israel out of Egypt, and the nearest way to the promised land was straight through Philistine territory. God deliberately didn’t take them that way. He took the long way, around through the wilderness, because he knew they weren’t ready yet for what the direct route would have thrown at them.
Brian’s point: the roundabout path isn’t God being distracted or slow, it’s God knowing what a direct route would cost you before you’re ready to pay it. And he doesn’t send you on it alone. The same God who chose the longer way also went ahead of them the whole way, a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, present the entire time.
The marker of maturity Brian named: can you thank God for the roundabout journey while you’re still in it, before you know how it turns out? Not just in hindsight, once the detour makes sense: in the middle of it, when it still just feels like the long way.
Touch Points
- Where in your life right now does it feel like you’re taking the long way to somewhere you’re supposed to be?
- Can you look back and name a “roundabout” season that turned out to be exactly what you needed?
- What would it look like to thank God for a detour you’re still in the middle of, before you know the outcome?
- If you’re heading into a big transition (school, a move, a new season), where do you need to trust God’s route over your own?