If God can perform miracles in an instant, why does He invite us into the journey at all? Why doesn’t He simply accomplish His will without our mistakes, delays, questions and failures?
Moses’ story is one of the few people, other than Jesus, whose whole life is recorded in the Bible from birth to death. Through every season, we see a God who is deeply involved — not just in the destination, but in the journey itself.
As a baby, Moses should have died. Instead, God protected him. He was found by Pharaoh’s daughter, adopted into the royal household, and even his own mother was allowed to care for him. God’s grace positioned him in the very place where he would receive the education, influence and understanding he would one day need to confront Pharaoh [Exodus 2:1–10, NIV].
Then Moses caught a glimpse of what he believed God had created him to do. But instead of waiting on God’s timing, he acted in his own strength and killed an Egyptian [Exodus 2:11–15, NIV]. In a single moment, everything changed. Everything that had been put in place for him was lost as part of the consequences of what he did. He fled into the wilderness to avoid severe punishment, leaving behind the privilege, security and future he had known.
Yet, there again, God did not abandon him.
The wilderness became his new training ground. Moses learned the land he would one day lead the Israelites through. He built a family, shepherded his father-in-law’s sheep, and learned humility [Exodus 2:15–22, NIV]. What initially looked like failure became preparation.
When God finally called him back to Egypt through the burning bush [Exodus 3:1–12, NIV], Moses was terrified. He knew the consequences of what he had done decades earlier. Instead of removing every obstacle, God gave him grace for the journey. He even sent Aaron, Moses’ own brother, to stand beside him and speak for him until Moses found the confidence to step into what God had called him to do [Exodus 4:10–16, NIV].
Again and again we see God’s pattern: Not removing every consequence. Not making every path easy but providing grace for every step.
As Moses continued to walk with God, God entrusted him with writing the first five books of the Bible — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy [Joshua 1:7–8, NIV; Luke 24:44, NIV].
Just pause and think about that for a moment.
Moses became the one through whom God revealed the story of Creation, the Garden of Eden, the flood, the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and His covenant with His people. He spent forty days in God’s presence on Mount Sinai, receiving God’s revelation and instructions [Exodus 24:12–18, NIV]. Scripture even tells us that “the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend,” [Exodus 33:11, NIV].
What would we not give to have time like that? To sit with God, hearing His stories directly from Him. To ask Him questions about Creation, about His heart, about the things only He has seen and done. To simply listen as He shares about His handiwork throughout history. That is one of the greatest pictures of relationship in the entire Bible.
Yet, Moses stumbled again.
After all those years of walking with God, after all the miracles, conversations and incredible intimacy, Moses lost his temper. When God instructed him to speak to the rock, he struck it instead [Numbers 20:7–12, NIV]. And because of that act of disobedience, God told him he would not lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.
The consequence remained… and so did God’s grace.
Before Moses died, God took him up the mountain and allowed him to see the Promised Land with his own eyes [Deuteronomy 34:1–4, NIV]. Then, in one of the most intimate moments in Scripture, Moses died in the presence of the Lord, and God Himself buried His servant [Deuteronomy 34:5–6, NIV].
What does Moses’ life teach us?
That God is invested in our lives from the very beginning. That He doesn’t walk away when we fail.
That even while we are living with the consequences of our own choices, His grace continues to prepare us for what still lies ahead. God could have accomplished His plan without Moses. Instead, He chose to accomplish it with Moses.
God isn’t only interested in accomplishing His purposes. He desires partnership and relationship with us. He wants us to know Him as we walk with Him, not merely to reach the destination.
So don’t become discouraged if your journey feels longer than you expected, or if your own mistakes have left you facing painful consequences.
Look for God’s grace.
It may come as a new opportunity, unexpected provision, faithful friends, wisdom for the next step, or simply His presence carrying you through another day.
The journey may not look the way you imagined. But if you keep walking with Him, it will reveal the faithfulness of the One who has been with you since the day you were born.
Maybe that is why God doesn’t simply do the miracle and move on. Maybe He values the journey because that is where relationship is formed. That is where trust grows.
That is where we come to know His heart. That is His greatest desire — not simply that we arrive at our calling, but that we arrive there knowing Him.