This past weekend I had the privilege of visiting my cousin and his family. It was a big family celebration honoring my cousin for getting his Masters Degree, the joyous occasion of their 11th wedding anniversary and for many of us, seeing their new house for the first time. They live in Northern Virginia so we had the pleasure of traveling down I-270 and the Capital Beltway for a time. I went with my parents and my father drove.
Since we were unsure where to go we plugged in the GPS. Seemed like a good idea but as most of you know, sometimes these handy little gadgets lack good sense.
On the way, as I said, we were on I-270 South. This highway has four lanes for most of it but the two right lanes are considered “local”. That enables people who are traveling straight through not to get caught up with traffic that will be exiting. I guess the GPS didn’t know that so it took us back and forth a few times before we figured out “she” didn’t know what she what talking about. Of course, we were talking back to “her” like she was a real person. I have to admit we didn’t have especially nice things to say for most of the trip, especially on the way home! (But that’s another story all together). We finally figured out we could just go straight and not wind in and out of the local road. It was pretty comical once we figured it out.
I’m so thankful that living as a Christian is not like following a GPS. We can ask for direction from God and He will give it to us accurately in multiple ways: primarily through His Word (the Bible), through other faithful Christians, through hearing His Word preached and by the Holy Spirit indwelling us as believers. The direction we are supposed to take is not always easy to live or easy to discern. But the blessings come when we live according to God’s plan and God’s will.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” {emphasis mine} Proverbs 3:5-6 (New KJV)
Other translations of the Bible translate “direct your paths” as “make straight your paths” or “make your paths straight”. That is what came to mind as were weaving in and out on I-270. So many times in life we “weave” out of God’s will for us. Hopefully we will learn lessons as we make our way back to the path.
If you have gotten off of the “path”, what will it take to get back on? The scripture above tells us:
· Trust in the Lord with all your heart
· Lean not on your own understanding
· In all ways acknowledge Him (God)
Sounds easy, right? Most of us know what we need to do…it’s just doing it. Thankfully we are not on our own. We can pray and ask God to give us the ability to do what He says and He is SO faithful.
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.” Psalm 145:13 (NIV)
Thank you, Lord, for direction through your Word and Your faithfulness throughout all time as we trust in You.
Have a great day!