Once Israel was delivered out of Egypt, the plan was to get to the Promised
Land—a land “flowing with milk and honey”—which means it was a beautiful,
fertile, prosperous place. And there was a route they could have taken from
Egypt to Canaan that Isaiah calls “the way of the sea” (Isaiah 9:1) because
it followed the Mediterranean Sea. That would have been the direct route.
Here are few things about this direct route: It was the shortest distance,
the most scenic route, and the most popularly traveled. But God doesn’t
take them on the Direct Route. Instead, Israel wanders in the wilderness
for 40 years. Let’s define “wandering” this way: Living in the space
between where I started and where I want to be. The question is this: How
do you live in the space between?