Our Spiritual GPS
A while back I took a trip out of town and found myself hopelessly lost and disoriented in the middle of the night. Besides being uncomfortable, my wife and kids were with me, and you know how tough it is for a man to admit he's lost. Fortunately, I was able to use my cellphone to call my sister-in-law who lived in that town, who then, after I described my surroundings, was able to recognize where I was at, and then safely guided me to my destination. After that incident, I began to research those portable GPS devices most of us have heard about in recent years.
GPS stands for Global Positioning System. In case you don't know what these devices are, they look like small TV sets that you can mount on your dashboard, and by communicating with satellites overhead, they amazingly display your current position on a local street map. You can then type in an address in any city, and a voice will begin giving you directions on how to proceed to get there.
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I borrowed a friend's GPS device to try it out for myself on a road trip. I fell in love with this thing. After telling it where I wanted to go, it immediately prompted me on how to proceed. For example, it would say, "In 300 yards, turn right." Then, "Go one mile, then bear left, then take the next exit." You could also see your vehicle on the screen, moving down the road as the map scrolls on ahead of you, and you could see the side streets, rivers, and so on as you passed them by as well. In addition, the GPS is programmed with the locations of millions of points of interest you may want to visit, as well the all-important locations of gas stations and restaurants you may need to stop at along the way. Even more, yes there's more, it can give you "live" weather information and traffic reports that can come in real handy on any given day.
Best of all, however, is that if you get distracted and miss an important turn, all is not lost. It announces "Re-calculating!" from its speaker, and then immediately advises you of a new route it has determined to best enable you to get to your destination. Sometimes it's as easy as taking the next turn, sometimes it tells you where you can make a u-turn. Whatever the case, though, while you may get delayed somewhat because you missed a turn, it doesn't mean you can no longer get to your destination. The GPS will get you there, no matter how many times you screw up, as long as you are willing to persevere and obey its directions. Finally, there is a button marked "Home", that you can program to your home address, so that no matter where you are in all of North America (or the world if those maps are included), you can simply push that button and it will proceed to guide you turn by turn, right to your home front door.
As I was enjoying the wonder, comfort, and security of having this device to guide my way, something really neat occurred to me about God. He has given all of us believers when we are saved, our own personal GPS to guide our lives. GPS in this case stands for God's Providential System. It consists of the Holy Spirit within us, who of course is in constant communication with our Father in heaven, as well as a large host of ministering angels that surround and overlook all of our comings and goings. We all have this great resource to guide us along everyday.
You see, the greatest part about all this is that we don't have to fret about how we are going to discover and follow God's plan for our lives. He's promised to conform us to the image of His Son and to bring us to Himself in heaven one day. All we have to do is trust Him and follow the directions He gives us through His Word, promptings by His Spirit, counsel from other believers, possible angelic visitations and many other signs He may put in our path as He sees fit to lead and guide us to our ultimate destination.
The thing I've really come to understand in recent years, is that, just like our GPS in the car, God is constantly willing and able to "re-calculate" our path when we get distracted and stray away from His earlier guidance. God's plan for our lives is not some fixed, inflexible plan, that if we miss it, all is lost. No, God mercifully goes after us like a good shepherd who goes after a lost sheep, gently guiding it back to safety. God's goal and destination for us always remains the same, but His plan has infinite flexibility built into it to ensure that even the dumbest, most stubborn of us, will finally see our heavenly home. Lord, You deserve all our praise!
-nOFuTuRe
What a perfect way to describe our trip with God. I believe we are traveling with Him every day, and He will surely guide us in the right direction. GPS, God's Perfect Space. This is the place I want to be traveling in with Him. How great would it be to never get lost again. What a peaceful thought to know He has our position permanently locked on!!! This is a cool teaching!! God Bless, Kathy
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You write very interesting content.
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Awesome post!
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