“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”. Isaiah 30:21
My husband and I headed up to the Cape for a couple of days in July, and we made sure to invite SIRI to come along with us. Her calm, collected voice is a vital part of our travel now. Because before GPS, back when we had to write out directions by hand, my husband and I had a really bad habit of getting lost at the end of a trip.
That’s a bad feeling!
Now, there’s definitely no good time to get lost. But in a way, it’s almost worse when it happens at the end of a trip. By then we’re getting tired of being in the car, and we’re feeling restless, getting a little irritable with each other…and each of us hangs on by thinking hopefully, “at least we’ll be there soon.”
And then it happens…we miss an exit, or turn the wrong way…and we suddenly realize we have no idea where we are, and the rest of our directions don’t make sense. How many times have I sat in the Navigator’s seat, just staring at my written instructions, clueless about what to do next while a cold wave of dread washed over me…
Well, GPS has rescued us from all that. The lovely and ever-patient SIRI guides us through all the twists and turns of our trips. And we can relax, knowing that she has everything in hand.
After we got back from this latest trek, a thought hit me: How great would it be if I could trust God’s navigation in my everyday life like I do our GPS while we’re on a trip? Cause, honestly, I struggle with that sometimes.
I know in my head and my heart that God is good. He loves me, He has a plan for me. “Plans to prosper you, not to harm you,” He promises in Jeremiah. And, He’s always near to guide me, right up to the end of my journey. That’s true for every one of us, by the way. So why do I have trouble resting in that knowledge?
I think part of the reason is simply that I’m human. And, in a way, I hope that God’s leading will be like the GPS on our phones.
I’ll admit it – I’d prefer to see the whole route laid out for me before I start!
And when we plug a destination into Google Maps, we not only get a map, but all the steps to where we’re going. We get alerts about any unexpected issues ahead of time, and even a detour to get us around the problem. Also, we get a pretty accurate estimate of how long it will take to reach our destination.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve sometimes wished God would be that clear with me right off the bat. Cause the whole idea of trusting in what I can’t see can be so challenging!
Here’s the thing, though – I can see how God leads me. When I stop and look back over my life journey so far, I can’t help but clearly see His guiding hand. I catch glimpses of all the times He’s kept me on the right track and carried me around or through all sorts of obstacles and issues. I discover that His timing in every situation and season has been perfect.
You know what else I see? God has provided me with a set of navigational tools – His Word, His people, and that still small voice of His.
So, when I consider all that, it’s okay that God doesn’t lay out my whole life journey like some sort of GPS system. The more I remember how faithful He’s been so far, the easier it will be to trust that He truly does have everything in hand. And His voice is so much sweeter to my ears than SIRI’s.