Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMPC)
Challenged, by the daunting task of traveling from downtown Houston to an airport, led me to try a new service (that shall remain un-named). This required the use of an app on my phone. I was going to trust the stranger, who responded to this app, to pick me up and navigate the streets of Houston to transport me to my destination. Crazy!?
Let’s say his name is “Adam”. Adam struggled to find my location. Using my app I located him and directed him, by a phone call, to me and my awaiting suitcase. Adam was smiling and pleasant, however, he struggled to understand my conversation…then it occurred to me…he was not comfortable with my language. I soon discovered, after he missed the first exit, that he could not understand the English speaking Siri on his GPS.
His phone was mounted on an unstable apparatus. In his struggle to stabilize the phone, he ran off the road (for real!). That is when I opened my GPS and began monitoring Adam’s navigation. It gave me some security to know where and how I was going: a sweet security in the palm of my hand.
As he was about to miss another exit I tried to give him “back seat” direction, which he ignored. He could not understand my words any better than Siri’s. The good news is that Adam was able to recover from his mistakes and I arrived at the airport safely and on time.
GPS is not helpful if you can not see, hear or understand the directions.
GPS is short for Global Positioning System, and it has quickly become an integrative part of our society. It is a worldwide radio-navigation system formed from a constellation of 24 satellites and their ground stations.
This amazing system is only helpful if the user is able to know and recognize the directions. As I was holding my GPS in my hand, feeling more secure, I begin to realize that God’s presence in my life is my most trusted GPS – God’s Present Spirit. God is closer than the phone in my hand.
5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”6 So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper,
so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 NLT
Adam did not know the language of his GPS and could not get a good visual on the map. He was leaning on his own understanding of direction and was failing to find a “clear path”.
I know that God can be trusted but at times I have trouble listening and seeing His presence in my life. When I do not take the time to train myself to seek His presence I miss His direction. The best GPS is God’s Present Spirit.
God’s Present Spirit Gives TRUE Direction
Compared to the divine wisdom of our heavenly Father, my human insight and understanding about a situation is very childlike. When a child’s ball rolls into the street, he lacks the insight to understand the danger of the street. He just wants his ball and will run to reclaim his toy. The trusted loving parent can call out to the child to stop. The child, recognizing the voice of his parent, will stop and look to at them to help him know the safe “path” to retrieve the ball. The small child knows and trusts the voice of his parent.
There are times in my life when my “ball” is out of control. My human insight will direct me toward a certain path…then I receive a caution from God to choose another path. It may not feel natural or even wise in the eyes of world. Trusting God’s Present Spirit directs me to a life giving path, giving me strength and wisdom.
As I make choices in business, tithing, family, friendships and ministry, I trust the voice of God to show me the right path. God has directed me to give generously when it would not be seen as wise in the world’s eyes. The end result was multiple blessings of provision, pointing to the presence of a loving God. God has directed me, at times, to limit my practice. Weeks later I recognized His wisdom as unexpected family needs became a reality.
To lean confidently, trusting in God, I must be able to hear and know his voice. Hearing and knowing require focus and time. Taking time to know my Father through quiet reflection of scripture, vulnerable prayers and the teachings of wise mentors. To focus on anything requires intentionality.
Focus is “a central point, of attraction, attention, or activity”.
To be focused with direction or flounder with distractions is a daily choice I get to make. The opportunity for distraction is always present with social media, entertainment, technology, busy schedules. These inevitable give way to weary minds.
The tension between distraction and direction requires discipline in decision. The decision to keep God presence at the forefront of my attraction, attention and activity. Trusting God becomes my motivator to direct my focus to hear His voice and seeking to understand His will instead of being directed by my short sighted wants and wisdom.
Adam had not taken the time to train himself to understand English. This resulted in many wrong turns, misguided understanding of his GPS and a disconnection with the customers he served. We can choose to be trained to know God’s Present Spirit and find the way to our life paths as we trust in Him finding a divine connection as we serve Him.
Be inspired by Laura Daigle’s song “Trust in You”
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