Core Truth: Just as with Israel of old, when God delivered us from the Egyptian bondage of our sins He did not intend that we should then wander aimlessly and unprotected on our journey home. Rather, our Good Shepherd offers us His personal presence and protection for every step along the way.
Scripture: Exodus 13:17-18, 20-22 Amplified Bible
When Pharaoh let the people go, God led them not by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God said, Lest the people change their purpose when they see war and return to Egypt. But God led the people around by way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the Israelites went up marshaled [in ranks] out of the land of Egypt. ... They journeyed from Succoth and encamped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 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. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.