Rerouting . . .
I was thinking about how GPS has changed our lives – at least it has certainly changed mine! I am directionally challenged. Actually, I am completely useless when it comes to anything geographic. You always hear that when you are lost, just look for true north and it will help you know positionally where you are. My brain never has any inkling of where true north is! When our kids were young, before GPS, we would take them on long road trips. When we would get lost, my husband would hand me the map and ask me to figure out where we needed to go. He may as well have asked me to compute e=mc2! Usually, by the time I figured out just where we were on the map, we were about 15 miles past it. GPS changed all that though! Now no matter where I need to drive to, I have a navigational system that will get me there! I don’t have to stumble around trying to figure things out for myself.
I love GPS and can’t imagine functioning without it, but I admit sometimes it can be annoying. When I see that word, “rerouting” on my screen, I get frustrated. I don’t want to reroute! I want to stay on my current route where I am comfortable; I want to stay on the highway cruising at 75 mph! I do not want to go on back roads through some small town or city that I am unfamiliar with. After I yell at the nonexistent lady guiding me, I remind myself that the GPS must know something I don’t. The familiar highway may look like the best way to me, but construction, traffic, or an accident might have it all backed up. So even though I may not like maneuvering through tiny one-way streets with lots of traffic lights, it really is the best way to get to where I am going.
You may have already figured out where I am going with this! 2 Tim 3:16 – 17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man (and woman) of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Isaiah 58:11 says, “The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
Friends, long before Dr. Gladys West invented GPS, God had His own navigation system in place – Scripture! God knew that our sinful selves could never begin to comprehend the best way to navigate through life, so He gave His people guidance through His Word. First, He shows us where true north is, so that we always know our position. This is Jesus! Every one of the 66 books of the Bible, both the Old Testament and New Testament, points to Jesus! He is our true north. When we are looking to Him as our Lord and Savior, we know where we are positionally with God – we are His! But God doesn’t stop there. With the help of the Holy Spirit, His Word also gets us to our destination – which for a believer is being sanctified to more and more resemble Christ. Often, this does not occur by flying down the highways, but by taking windy backroads that have a lot of stop lights, one ways, and detours. You can’t grow in your faith by sailing through life at 75 mph. You would miss seeing everyone and everything that is around you. You would also think you have a lot less need for God, because as is true with a GPS, the highway is well marked and easy to navigate! It is only on those crazy back roads that we find ourselves clinging to our GPS. How much does this mirror our faith journey?! When things are going great and we are cruising through our days, how little need we find we have for God and His Word. But when our lives get detoured with an unexpected event or crisis situation, how many of us run to God begging Him to help us get through it and / or find a way out. These are the times that most people open their Bibles. While it is always appropriate to turn to God’s Word, this should not be the only time we do it! Scripture is just as vital when life is going well as it is when we’ve hit a road bump. In fact, reading and studying God’s Word during the highway periods of our life is exactly what prepares us to handle the detours God may bring to us!
So I want to challenge you today to first, make sure you know where True North is – are you looking to Jesus as your Lord and Savior? That is the crucial first step because if you don’t have that, then you are lost without any hope of finding your way. And second, are you reading and studying God’s Word, so that no matter where He may lead you, you have His navigation system ingrained in you, and you will never find yourself truly lost?
If you want to know more about what it means to make Jesus your Lord and Savior or you would like some help with reading the Bible, message us! It would be our privilege to speak with you!
