The Dangers of Shortcut

There is a path designed by God for everyone to follow to fulfil destiny, this path could be rough or smooth depending on what God wants to use you for. God allowing you to follow a smoother path does not mean you are better than people following a rougher path, and following a rougher path does not mean God dislikes you and loves people following a smoother path more than you.

God’s wisdom cannot be fathomed by humans, he reigns from eternity to eternity, and only him knows how to work out his plans for man. If you cannot trust his wisdom, you might be dislocated in his plans for your life. Depending on God and trusting his wisdom is important in fulfilling destiny and attaining the uttermost heights. It is wise to trust the one who knows the end from the beginning, who can use anything and everything to work out his plan.

“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please’ (Isaiah 46:10).

A smoother path is great, and everyone desires it. A rough path is difficult, and no one is willing to go through it, but God is not wicked, he won’t make you go through difficult things without a plan to work it all out for your good. Before the creation of the world, God has a plan for you, and he is raising you up for that purpose. A rough path is a path of training to expose humans to what they need to fulfil God’s plan.

Let’s use this illustration. The distance from Tulsa Oklahoma to Oklahoma-city is about 96 nautical miles and we have four persons heading to Oklahoma-city from Tulsa to talk about their experience on the way. The first person could be opportune to fly to Oklahoma-city and arrive there in less than 30mins, while the second person might be blessed with a car and arrive in about 1 hour, 30 mins. The third person might be blessed to go through greyhound bus and spend about 4 hours on the road and the fourth person might not have the opportunity to fly, or drive, or use public transport like greyhound. He might need to trek to Oklahoma-city and spend over 24 hours on the road. So, the question is, is God unjust to make the fourth person trek? Not at all. God does things according to his plans.

The first person will have no clue of what to experience from point A to Point B. The second person might see some things along the route but might not have details of those things because he will drive. The third person might also see some things on his way and take note of certain things but not all things because he will be in a moving vehicle. The fourth person will see everything along the road and have the details of those things, even though the journey looks difficult and exhausting, he will be the most experienced person to give some details. The fourth person might be the most celebrated if they were to share their experiences. The first person who is blessed to fly could only give little details and his audience will be those who have money to fly.

If the fourth person complaints and laments as he embarks on that journey, he will get nothing out of the journey. Complaints and grumbling hinder humans from learning what God wants them to learn. This is the reason a lot of people go through difficult moments without fulfilling purpose and become a failure in the school of destiny. We must learn how to endure hardship and learn whatever lesson the Lord wants us to learn in difficult times. That was why Paul said, “you therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2Tim 2:3).

Short-cuts often seem incredibly fast, but can end up taking people far away from God’s original plan. People who are unable to hold on to God in difficult situations opt for short-cut and later realize they have missed God’s plan for their lives.

Dangers of Short-Cut

It’s a waste of God’s Investment

Difficult times are not easy, but they are priceless opportunities of greatness given to us by God. God uses difficult moments to mold and transform people and prepare them for what he has in store for them. It is a class in the school of greatness where God molds people’s character by making them go through fire and later come out as gold.

It Stops Progress

In the process of taking a short-cut, a man could get stuck. The path that seems to be fast and smooth could bring sorrow and regrets. The consequences of it might not be obvious now, but in the long run, it will be devastating. Anyone who wants to attain the uttermost height must be careful and avoid taking short-cuts.

During my aviation training, I was advised to take a short-cut because my training was taking too long. Someone told me to manipulate and alter my logbook, I declined because I have the fear of God. Indeed, that could have saved me some money and time, but I knew it would come with some unforeseen consequences.

When I finished that training, I transferred to another school for additional training. The first examiner that was to conduct my check-ride said, “I don’t like your logbook and I don’t even think all the hours you have in this logbook are correct”. I replied, “everything here is correct”. Before I knew what was going on, He reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to verify my logbook. They asked me to contact all the schools I have been to and request my flight training records which I did. They appointed someone who went over my logbook and cross-checked it with all the flight training records sent from all the schools I have been to.

If I had manipulated my logbook by recording flight hours I never did, that would have been the end of my career. All the time and money I spent would have been a waste and the short-cut would have cut short and stopped my progress, the uttermost height I aimed for would have become a shattered dream.

It Hinders Your Testimony

Testimonies are powerful weapons to confront future obstacles. If you are running away from small obstacles how will you confront great obstacles? Whosoever is willing to attain the uttermost height will keep scaling new heights every day and each height comes with challenges. Testimonies build us up and strengthen us to soar higher.