GPS devices are life savers. Almost everyone has access to one via a smart phone, a portable unit or now built into their vehicle. What did we do before them? I'm old enough to remember! We used things called maps. You could pick them up in gas stations or rest areas. I used to have my glove boxes in the car full of them from different states. They worked wonderful as long as you knew where you were. But unfolding them out in the car while you were driving could be more dangerous than glancing down at your smart phone while zipping down the highway.
It also helped if you had someone with you who could read a map. I can remember as a kid that my mom would navigate with map in hand as my dad would mostly follow her directions. We usually got to our destination point without any problem. In fact, my parents would give us a map to follow along on our journey. It taught us how to read a map and cause us to quit asking that age ol' annoying question, "how long till we get there?"
However, if the person with you couldn't read a map, like my wife, things got a little more challenging, frustrating and even led to a few heated exchanges. I confess on more than one occasion I would grab the map away from my wife and try to decipher where we were and how to get to the place we were going. Even though I knew I needed to memorize the route ahead of time, there were always those things that detoured our path and unclear road markings.
Now I don't go anywhere unfamiliar without a navigation device. I prefer the turn by turn voice models/apps. The ones with pictures of the arrows pointing to the lane I need to be in are even more helpful. I love it when my GPS device tells me of traffic delays or unfavorable road conditions ahead and offers an alternative route, or when the road is out or closed and I have to reroute my path. Oh it's true that I occasionally get into an argument with my TOMTOM and question where it's taking me, but normally that's when I know which way I want to go and it's trying to take me a different way. Ok, there have been times when TOMTOM was right and I was, well let's just say, "off course." It's at that point when my wife usually says something like, "If you are going to use that thing, why don't you follow it's direction?" My response to her is...! I hate it when she's right.
Generally before a trip I try to map out my journey using the google maps app on my iPhone or iPad to get an idea of what roads to take and get an idea of how long the trip should take. I usually have a pretty good idea of where I'm going before I ever start. But without the turn by turn navigation of a GPS device, I sometimes get lost and have difficulty recovering my path. It can be pretty frustrating when you have no idea where you are and how to get to where you want to go.
Although Solomon didn't have access to a GPS device, he did have the wisdom to point us to a solid path to follow. In Proverbs 16:1-9 he talks about getting on the right path and staying on the right path. There is a tendency for all of us to choose a path on our own and blindly set out in a direction we think will get us to what we want. We make our plans, carve out where we want to go and then pursue that path only to discover that there are hardship, disasters, detours, rugged conditions and dead ends. Solomon suggests that instead of running off in some direction on our own, that we plan our route out ahead of time with God. That is the safest, most reliable, most profitable, most beneficial path we could take. Following that path doesn't mean we won't run into any hardships. In fact God allows some hardship for us to strengthen us and our faith and to form us into what He wants us to become.
However, many of us, even though we have turn by turn navigation through the Holy Spirit, do exactly what I sometimes do with my navigation device, and ignore the direction being given. We assume we know where we are going only to get lost or "off course" with no idea of how to get back. Solomon says that we can make our own plans, God does give us free choice. But God gives the right answers, he directs our steps.
If you're feeling a little off course, lost, frustrated, confused or disoriented, I suggest plugging in, turning on God's GPS system. Listen in. Open His Word. Seek out His Spirit. Cry out! Focus in on praising Him and drawing close to Him. Soon you will begin to see the right path again and your spirit will be lifted. There is nothing like finding your way back to familiar territory. He's calling you back to His path of righteousness.
God, why am I so independent and so stubborn sometimes? I take off in my own direction without consulting you, listening to you, following you. I am so arrogant sometimes thinking I know where I/we should go on my own. I leave you behind or quite frankly just shut you off completely. God, I want to stay focused on your path. I don't want to wander off it. Keep me aligned with Your Holy Spirit. Direct my steps daily.
It also helped if you had someone with you who could read a map. I can remember as a kid that my mom would navigate with map in hand as my dad would mostly follow her directions. We usually got to our destination point without any problem. In fact, my parents would give us a map to follow along on our journey. It taught us how to read a map and cause us to quit asking that age ol' annoying question, "how long till we get there?"
However, if the person with you couldn't read a map, like my wife, things got a little more challenging, frustrating and even led to a few heated exchanges. I confess on more than one occasion I would grab the map away from my wife and try to decipher where we were and how to get to the place we were going. Even though I knew I needed to memorize the route ahead of time, there were always those things that detoured our path and unclear road markings.
Now I don't go anywhere unfamiliar without a navigation device. I prefer the turn by turn voice models/apps. The ones with pictures of the arrows pointing to the lane I need to be in are even more helpful. I love it when my GPS device tells me of traffic delays or unfavorable road conditions ahead and offers an alternative route, or when the road is out or closed and I have to reroute my path. Oh it's true that I occasionally get into an argument with my TOMTOM and question where it's taking me, but normally that's when I know which way I want to go and it's trying to take me a different way. Ok, there have been times when TOMTOM was right and I was, well let's just say, "off course." It's at that point when my wife usually says something like, "If you are going to use that thing, why don't you follow it's direction?" My response to her is...! I hate it when she's right.
Generally before a trip I try to map out my journey using the google maps app on my iPhone or iPad to get an idea of what roads to take and get an idea of how long the trip should take. I usually have a pretty good idea of where I'm going before I ever start. But without the turn by turn navigation of a GPS device, I sometimes get lost and have difficulty recovering my path. It can be pretty frustrating when you have no idea where you are and how to get to where you want to go.
Although Solomon didn't have access to a GPS device, he did have the wisdom to point us to a solid path to follow. In Proverbs 16:1-9 he talks about getting on the right path and staying on the right path. There is a tendency for all of us to choose a path on our own and blindly set out in a direction we think will get us to what we want. We make our plans, carve out where we want to go and then pursue that path only to discover that there are hardship, disasters, detours, rugged conditions and dead ends. Solomon suggests that instead of running off in some direction on our own, that we plan our route out ahead of time with God. That is the safest, most reliable, most profitable, most beneficial path we could take. Following that path doesn't mean we won't run into any hardships. In fact God allows some hardship for us to strengthen us and our faith and to form us into what He wants us to become.
However, many of us, even though we have turn by turn navigation through the Holy Spirit, do exactly what I sometimes do with my navigation device, and ignore the direction being given. We assume we know where we are going only to get lost or "off course" with no idea of how to get back. Solomon says that we can make our own plans, God does give us free choice. But God gives the right answers, he directs our steps.
If you're feeling a little off course, lost, frustrated, confused or disoriented, I suggest plugging in, turning on God's GPS system. Listen in. Open His Word. Seek out His Spirit. Cry out! Focus in on praising Him and drawing close to Him. Soon you will begin to see the right path again and your spirit will be lifted. There is nothing like finding your way back to familiar territory. He's calling you back to His path of righteousness.
God, why am I so independent and so stubborn sometimes? I take off in my own direction without consulting you, listening to you, following you. I am so arrogant sometimes thinking I know where I/we should go on my own. I leave you behind or quite frankly just shut you off completely. God, I want to stay focused on your path. I don't want to wander off it. Keep me aligned with Your Holy Spirit. Direct my steps daily.
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