GPS for the New Year…

It was Christmas a year ago that my wife gave me a Garmin GPS system. Now, as any red-blooded American male would do, I thanked her profusely for her unselfish gift and thought to myself, “I don’t need some computer gizmo giving me directions…I can find where I need to go and how to get there ON MY OWN!”

Well. Here it is a year later and boy, was I ever wrong….this thing has been great. Over the first three months of 2009, I had a new job calling on businesses in the greater Greenville, SC area …going, or trying to go, to places I had never been before; some, in fact, probably did not even show up on a map. I was intrigued that every time I typed an address into the GPS, it gave me turn by turn directions to that specific location. This was nirvana for a manly man like me….getting directions without having to ask someone.

You know, a lot of us treat God like that….we want to go where He wants us to go; we just don’t want to ask for His directions. Scripture says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes (directs) his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 We say that we want to be “in the Father’s will,” but then we set out to follow the desires of our hearts and hope that at some junction along our journey, our will and God’s direction will mesh in perfect harmony. Unfortunately, it hardly ever works out that way.

We become lost in life’s journey to serve a risen Lord when we fail to consult His GPS….God’s Placement System…..His Holy Word. God is ready, willing and totally able to direct and establish the roads that He wants us to take if we will only consult Him and read His word. The more we read, the more He directs; the more He establishes the way that is right, the more we enjoy the journey. Proverbs 3: 5-6, a favorite verse that was given to me as a young man from one of my spiritual mentors says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path (steps).”

So don’t try to make it along life’s highway with just your understanding….tap into God’s GPS and acknowledge that He and He alone knows best. Read, study and ingest His Holy Word … let Him guide you and follow the path that He has set before you. And if, at some point, the directions seem fuzzy or you have gotten off course, do what my GPS does for me each time I make a wrong turn, miss an exit or travel too far down the road past my desired destination…..it screams at me, RECALCULATING, RECALCULATING!!!!

The start of this New Year is a great time to recalculate where God is directing you in service for Him…or to confirm that you are firmly implanted on the path that He has directed you to travel. Either way, it’s a great time to get into His Word and become a better you. Yes, God’s Holy word is your GPS and it will direct you to where He wants you to go. The question is simple ….Are you too manly (or womanly) to ask the God of Creation for directions?

I pray that 2010 will be the best year of your life thus far as God directs your steps and you follow His heavenly directions…..and if you have a moment; from time to time, drop me a line and let me know how goes the journey…..

Traveling Life’s Highway ….Following His Directions,
WPQ