Praising Him for the Seen and Unseen

“Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” Therefore God led the people around by way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in battle formation from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 13: 17-18, NASB)

“But rejoice, all who take refuge in You, sing for joy forever! And may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You. For You bless the righteous person, Lord, you surround him with favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:11-12, NASB)

When I was a little girl, my parents instated a bedtime routine for me. It was some iteration of bath, snack time, brush teeth, story time, and then saying prayers. Like most prayers for little kids, there was a rhythm to it so that eventually I’d be able to say them on my own and know what to pray for. 

One thing we always prayed has always stuck out to me. Each night, we’d thank God for His many blessings, seen and unseen. As a kid, I didn’t understand the full breadth of what that meant, but as I got older it meant more. It’s simple, but hard to wrap our minds around: the fact that God blesses us in ways that are readily apparent and obvious, but He also blesses us in ways we aren’t even aware of, simply because He can see things going on around us that we could never possibly see from our limited perspective.

Take Exodus 13 for example. At this point, Pharaoh had let the Israelite people go from their slavery. The Israelites had packed up their lives, their families, their herds, and their spoils from the Egyptian people and began to follow Moses out of Egypt in pursuit of the Promised Land. As people left to our own devices, if we had to travel from Egypt to Canaan, which is modern day Israel, we probably would have chosen the path of least resistance. That being to head north to the Mediterranean and then follow that shore up to Canaan. And in that day, that was an actual route, which is what the Book of Exodus means when it says “the way of the land of the Philistines.”

To the best of our knowledge, Philistia was a territory that went up along the shoreline of the Mediterranean between ancient Egypt and the Promised Land, and it was a common route for trading between those two civilizations. In addition to being the shortest journey, there would have been easy access to food and supplies for the trip. 

But that’s not the way God led the Isrealites. Instead, He led them to the Red Sea, or more specifically the part we now would consider the Gulf of Suez. To an ancient civilization of multitudes of people trying to flee a country as fast as they can, cornering themselves with a whole sea to cross before freedom is not exactly quick or efficient. So why would God lead His people by that route and not the seemingly obvious one?

Because in addition to trading and convenience, that route also had many of Egypt’s military outposts. So, if and when Pharaoh realized that he dismissed his free labor that was available for 400 years, it would have been incredibly easy for him to chase down and capture them. But that isn’t an insight that the people of Israel may have had, especially because they never could have anticipated what God would do to clear a way for them by parting the very sea that seemed like a full stop to their journey out of Egypt. 

And that’s understandable, because in that day, Israel would have needed a lot of boats to move their people both old and young, their livestock, and their belongings. 

But God was Israel's shelter. He was protecting them, defending them, and looking out for them beyond what they could have anticipated. Just like a GPS might be able to see ahead and let you know what you can’t see that will hinder you like traffic jams, police cars lying in wait, or roadwork, God looked ahead and saw that Pharaoh would change his mind and try to overpower what God was doing. 

And He does the same thing for us all the time. His blessings are seen and unseen. He is always going before us and protecting us from those that intend to harm us or distract us. He hedges His people in and leads us in a different direction– one that will demonstrate His love for us and His sovereign power. 

Remember: the Red Sea might have looked like a roadblock or a delay to the Israelites, but they never could have seen God parting the sea for them to walk through it. How many times is the same true for us, those who have become His children through the blood Jesus shed on the cross? How many times has He led us to seemingly insurmountable challenges, only to provide a way straight through them? 

Those are His blessings seen and unseen. And I think it’s so important to praise Him for the unseen ones just as loudly as we do for the seen ones.

For the times He protected you, shielded you, led you unexpectedly, sheltered you, fought for you, and everything in between– He is all the more worthy of praise. He has the ability to see what is lying in wait as you travel through this life, so when He brings you to an unexpected place, be encouraged not to grumble or complain for the surprise detour. 

Instead, thank Him for it. He won’t lead you to a place where He cannot defend or shield you. He might just see something you couldn’t have anticipated. He might be getting ready to do something more awesome than you can ask or think. He might be changing the course of where you thought you needed to go, and that’s okay. 

He knows better than we do, and His direction is a blessing.