My GPS

 

       People have traveled for centuries!  They had a direction in mind, and knew to follow the sun/moon/stars until they reached their designated destination.  

Mariners, out on the open water, used a device called a sextant, which relied on the stars and the horizon to navigate toward their destination.  (Mine may be a more modern picture!)  This device required observation during the travel time to make sure they remained on course.  Even drifting off several degrees, could cause their progress to be altered way off course!

PAPER MAPS TO NAVIGATE

     When I was a young adult, it was all about the atlas!  My husband and I would journey on trips across the States with our trusty map and knew if we followed the right roads, printed on the many pages of the Atlas, we would eventually get to where we were headed! 

     I admit, I wasn’t a pro at reading a map, and would get confused, even as I followed along about which road to take.  It wasn’t nearly as detailed as our current navigational instruments!

 FOLLOWING MY GPS

Today we have the GPS, which is very specific about where to turn, how many lights you have to go through and even which lane to drive in!  Years back when a GPS was first coming out, it was a device you had to purchase.  While they were reasonably accurate, sometimes they would take you places a vehicle should never go; like the wrong way on a one way street, down tiny alleys, not meant for cars, or even tell you to turn where there were no roads! 

Over the years the GPS has graduated to a more readily available system already programed on our iPhones!  Now we simply type in the specific address and it gives you options to choose from, for ease or desirability of the ‘scenic route’ or many other options via the filters available!

ALWAYS GETS ME BACK

      Not only do we have pictures on our GPS, it will even talk to us, making sure we don’t miss a turn or exit.   Yet, it’s so easy to ignore the directions the GPS gives, if we decide we’d rather go another direction.  
      The thought process is easy enough:  It’ll get me right back to where I need to be if I take another route.  And while that may be true, in theory, when we make innumerable turns, getting back to where we wanted to be can be difficult, given how many times we chose to go off course.

That’s not unlike our lives.  Every day offers choices to make.  We choose our work ethics, our honesty, how we prioritize our needs over wants, how we respond to those who differ in opinion, and so many other core values.  

SO MANY OPTIONS

        Sometimes we ignore the voice inside our hearts (or brain) which tells us the right way, and choose to disregard our 'internal GPS' directions, or we simply don’t trust it.  We're certain if we take another road, the destination will turn out just fine!

It’s also true we encounter detours and delays along the way.  Again, the GPS on our iPhone has the ability via satellite, to detect these and can take us an alternate way and still get us back on course.  

         In life, these unexpected interruptions can slow down our spiritual growth as we seek to find where we are and what we want to do, while all the while dealing with disappointment and discouragement!

LOST SIGNAL

Sometimes, we are driving in a place where there seems to be no signal.  Our GPS can go off grid, while it waits patiently for the signal to return.  Meanwhile we move forward and expect that soon we’ll be confidently back on track!  

The point is, we have a very handy and trusty navigational device--our GPS to help us traverse over miles and miles of beautiful country.  It gets updated regularly, almost, seemingly instantaneously, as needed!

        In life we can be simply lost, off track, filled with confusion and reaching for something,  and haven’t a clue how to move in any direction.

GOD'S WORD: THE BEST GPS

As Christians we have a handy and trusty navigational device for our lives, that however, needs no updates.  We are given the Bible, a Living document which can answer all life’s questions and give clear direction, if we search for the truth!  Scripture gives us what we need, is always correctly guiding, and is always faithful.

It will teach and instruct, give comfort, is ready to redirect when we miss a turn, keeps us anchored, strengthens, and shapes our hearts!  It can warn us when we are going down a wrong path, yet never abandons us.  God’s Word, when we choose it, is totally, the ultimate GPS for life!

Photo Credit: Sextant

Photo Credit: GPS 

Photo Credit: Traveling with a map 

Photo Credit: Off Grid 

Photo Credit: Choosing the right way

Photo Credit: Bible as the best GPS 

God's Protection

      My friend shares the story about a time when he and his wife were away from their small farm and arrived back to their home after dark.  Knowing they had an expectant cow in the pasture, went to check on her.  They discovered she had delivered her little calf before they arrived out in the field.  

PROTECTED!

What was significant was how their llamas and livestock guardian dog were protecting her and her new born.  Even as they moved the momma and calf to the barn for safety, the llamas and dog came along to make sure everything was done properly!

The protection the llamas and dog gave the cow and calf are an interesting parallel to how God watches over us. Sometimes it is due to a physical peril, but also emotional and even spiritual protection!

SATAN IS ON THE PROWL

Satan and his minions are all around us, creating havoc in so many different ways.  He whispers to us about our fears of the unknown, so that we become afraid to even move forward.  His tactics leave us feeling vulnerable, exposed and unprotected; and even turns the heat up on loneliness!  

His spiritual attacks create doubt, temptations and even discouragement to the point of giving up, as he tries to convince us we are in this current trial alone.  He presses the buttons of ‘I need an answer now’, so we become impatient and struggle to trust God’s timing.  And in all these ways cause us to forget God’s promises!

INTO THE FIERY FURNACE

I love the story of Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego.  I can’t imagine how much strength it took for the three of them to allow themselves to be thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to bow down to the king.  They even said (paraphrase) they may die or they may be protected by the God they served, and either way it would be fine.  What a witness!  And they came out of that fire without even smelling like smoke, and not an inkling of singe anywhere!

There are many things we, as humans, try to do on our own.  But we are incapable.  We don’t have super powers and we can’t see the future.  Neither do we   have the ability to work out stuff for other people the way we think things should be and often our minds don’t even have the capacity to work things out the way we want for ourselves!

WE CAN'T DO IT OURSELVES

Even when we realize something can’t happen by us storming in frustration, worry and brainstorming, we often just over stress and make ourselves and everyone around us miserable.  We become afraid, make bad choices, get angry, and shift blame.  We forget we have an alternative!

When unexpected challenges pour down on us, the best thing we can do is take it to a God who can! God’s protection can hold us steady when things seem murky and the the waves are battering us.  He is greater than any enemy we could ever encounter; greater than the fiery furnace; the lion’s den filled with lions, the wind and waves, even death!

REMEMBER GOD'S PROMISES

God promises to never leave us or forsake us; and his timing is always perfect!  It’s hard to be patient and allow God to work things out—even when we know it’ll be for our good.  We live in a ‘now’ culture, but that’s not God! 

When we remember —and believe in faith—that God is always with us, regardless of what we are going through, we can believe His strength will pull us through.  He will provide the calm, peace and reassurance we need, if we allow ourselves to ‘Be still and know that HE is an all powerful God’!

Photo Credit: Newborn Calf/?pagi=8