The Unclaimed Gift: Godly Positioning System

Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you."

Sweetheart and I finally took the plunge and bought our camper. Some friends offered to accompany us on our first trip as they own a camper similar to ours. It was our sincerest hope that none of our chaos would rub off on their generosity. Unfortunately that was not to be the case. We left just after lunch for what was to be a trip of less than an hour. Three hours, four turn arounds, five gps adjustments, two attempts with google maps, three phone calls and the addition of a fellow lost fifth wheeler later, we arrived at the “local” campground.

it's a little long......

Now…I say all this because I would like to point out that none of the women were doing the navigating. Not that I want to stereotype anyone. I am just saying…….I frequently get chided for the amount of detail I put into directions. You know what I mean. Go to the Wendys, turn right, go down the the street that has a blue house on the corner (not dark blue, more like a turquoise blue). On the other corner will be the cutest yellow house with a white board fence. Turn left there. Strangely enough none of my friends ever gets lost when using my directions. At least not my women friends. They write down every detail. If sweetheart gets directions from me he hears “blah blah turn right, blah blah blah, turn left”. Or he demands the address for the gps. As you well know, I detest that gps device. I have a love hate relationship with that silly box. Yes it can find all my Starbucks. No it never gets me there in shorter time.

my new kitchen

As if to prove its point, halfway down a narrow Texas farm road with no landmarks for miles, our gps turned itself off and no amount of coaxing would bring it back to life. The convoy stopped, giving all the sweethearts a chance to convene outside, thus relieving them of having to admit in front of the wives that we were hopelessly lost. They consulted printed maps and a phone gps. Another turn around later someone finally called the campground. After two more phone calls and another turn around , we finally spoke to someone who was FROM the area and could give us accurate directions. Their comment? “Oh don’t follow your gps directions. They won’t get you here”. Sigh.

hhhhmmmmmm

As I watched this debacle unfold, I couldn’t help but compare my daily Christian walk to our adventure. No amount of reading well written books or sitting through well spoken sermons or joining well defined small groups is ever going to be able to get you exactly where you need to be in your relationship with God. That will only occur when you have direct, one on one communication with the One who KNOWS the answers to your questions.

Now, that all being said, there is nothing wrong with all of those other things. In fact in Matthew 18:20 it specifically says that “where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them”. Learning from or helping other Christians is a necessary part of staying strong in our faith, especially when forces work against us or the pressures of life have us down on our knees.

silly dog1 and silly dog2

But, as I have learned, more often than not the hard way, those things should be our support system not our lifeline. The first call we should make every morning before we start out on our day’s journey should be to God. After that call, after we have all of His directions, we can use everything, and everyone else, to help us along the journey. We can use them to clarify the directions, find out the best detours around the roadblocks and construction zones, and find the rest stops along the way. We should always keep in mind however that maps can be out of date, new highways can be built, and some bathrooms are definitely on the do not stop here list.

2 Inca Doves

Dearest Father God, Thank You once again for another step in the journey You have laid out before me. Thank You for this refuge that You have given me that will allow me to take breaks to spend time writing for Your Glory. Thank You for good friends who have made our days full of laughter and fun, reminding us to once again slow down and enjoy life so that in so doing we can be better stewards of the days You have set before us. Help us to come before You first, before we take one step into the start of every day. In the name of Your most wonderful Son and Counselor, Christ Jesus, Amen

scripture from NIV1984 Bible