Global Positioning System

I don't know how many of you have used a Global Positioning System (GPS) before, but they can come in pretty handy. I was working for my Dad this summer and we were at a job about half an hour away from home in a city I had never driven to/in before. Well, my Dad forgot the table saw that I was supposed to work with that day, and it was pretty important....so he sent me back home to retrieve it. I was a bit worried because I had only ever sat in the car on the way to the work site, and I did not pay much attention to what roads we turned on. My Dad reassured me that the GPS (also known as Bob) would get me home, no problem. The problem comes in when you think you are smarter than the GPS. In my defense, Bob does get confused sometimes and he does not really know where I live (it is kind of in an obscure place) but he does know the general area...enough to get in my neighborhood.

I was driving down the road, and Bob told me to turn left. Well, I looked at the road and it was for sure not the right road. So I kept driving, and Bob "recalculated the route." Then again, Bob told me to turn left, I looked at the road and thought, "Eh....I don't know. It could be, but I don't think so." I kept driving, and Bob recalculated. All of the sudden I'm faced with a curve in the road and I'm thinking, "There definitely was not a curve in the road last time we went home." Needless to say, I had no idea where I was, and Bob had been right (the second time). Seeing as I was lost, I depended on Bob the whole rest of the ride home, and he got me there - or at least to my neighborhood.

If you haven't figured out the point I'm trying to make yet, here it is: God is our wonderful GPS for life. He is there for the weak and weary, the lost, and the overconfident ones who think they already know the way. Unfortunately, if you're like me (the overconfident type), you treat God like I treated Bob. You say, "God, I know You're telling me where to go, but it doesn't look right to me...so I'm going to go this way." It is when we do this that we end up lost and afraid. Sometimes we get ourselves so deep into trouble, it is hard to see the way out. Sometimes we ignore God's direction so many times, we end up in a whole different state. Fortunately, God knows the way back. He will recalculate the route for us so that we end up back in His loving embrace.

Some of you might be saying, "I know where God is directing me, but I'm too afraid to go." I realize that not everything God asks of us is easy. Trust me...I've been dealing with that a lot the past couple of months. However, how much scarier is it to be lost in this corrupt and dangerous world? How much scarier is it to be wandering around in this life without God, without His protection and care? Trusting is really not the most fun thing in the world. In fact, it is one of the most difficult things. But how many times has God's direction failed you before? Now take that answer and compare it to this: How many times has your own direction failed you before? Yes, God's way can be scary, but it's even scarier to walk this life under your own care and decisions.

On the other hand, there may be some of you saying, "I want to follow God's direction, but I can't hear Him directing me anywhere." OK, I feel you on this one. I agree...most of the time, God is not as obvious as Bob saying, "Turn left here." This is something that I have constantly struggled with, and still do to this day. How can I be sure I'm doing the right thing if I can't hear God telling me what the right thing is? This is why I firmly believe that life has to be a constant act of prayer. Pray for your own understanding of God's will, and ask others to pray for you as well. Also, read your Bible...there's a lot of important information in there about God's will for us.

Some of you may dismiss this because "feelings aren't concrete," but much of the time I base my decisions on feeling. I ask God to tell me how to feel, to give me feelings instead of talking to me directly (because I never hear Him). Plus, haven't you ever felt God moving you, from you very gut, to do something? Because of this, I trust my instinct and basic intuitions to make decisions. I know God has given me my conscience and instinct for a reason, so I better not go against them.

Trust is difficult, especially when decisions these days are becoming more complicated and difficult. Some of you may be trying to hear God's voice in the midst of confusion, others of you may think you have everything under control and can handle it on your own. Still others of you may be like me, and have both disabilities. Either way, God is still there and He cares for us - if we can trust nothing else in this world, we can trust in that. What He does for us, He does out of love, and it is our job to do His will and His calling. Otherwise, we will become lost in a world that is waiting, like a lion waiting for its prey, to suck us into its ruin.




"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
-Proverbs 3:5-6


'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
By: Louisa M.R. Stead

1. 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
and to take him at his word;
just to rest upon his promise,
and to know, "Thus saith the Lord."
Refrain:
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I've proved him o'er and o'er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!

2. O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
just to trust his cleansing blood;
and in simple faith to plunge me
neath the healing, cleansing flood!
(Refrain)

3. Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
just from sin and self to cease;
just from Jesus simply taking
life and rest, and joy and peace.
(Refrain)

4. I'm so glad I learned to trust thee,
precious Jesus, Savior, friend;
and I know that thou art with me,
wilt be with me to the end.
(Refrain)