Choosing The Right Map

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your

ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not

walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Have you ever set out to go somewhere and become so turned around that you had to consult a map or

ask someone for directions? Sometimes that can get you mixed up, too. You know, go three blocks, take

a left at the red house, go three more blocks and jog to the right, go past the green silo and you’ll be

there. You can’t miss it. Oh yes, I can. And sometimes you get people telling you to go north, east, west,

and south instead of left and right. Hoo boy that can throw me.

We want to get where we’re going and we need the correct directions. Many years ago when computer

navigation systems were new to vehicles, my husband and I found out they weren’t up to the task when

we drove to Iowa for an event, and rather than taking us to our destination, we ended up on a gravel road

at a lake in the dark. Fortunately, we had a trustworthy paper map of Iowa and navigated our way to the

event. 

We might assume we know where we’re going in life and how we will get there, relying on our own,

“directions.” We don’t go to the ultimate road map, the Bible, and choose not to consult God through

prayer. We go out on our own and often get ourselves mired on side roads and hindered by obstacles

until we finally surrender and give the journey to God and let Him lead us. Count on him to lovingly get us

turned around and headed in the right direction. 

C S Lewis wrote, “One road leads home, and a thousand roads into the wilderness.”

Lewis Carroll wrote, “ If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”

The Bible and your faith in Jesus Christ is your life map. It’s all right here. We need directions for our

lives, relationships, and as we face temptation. We’re told in Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you

in the way you should go: I will counsel you and watch over you.” Notice that He says “the way you

should go.” Not always the way you want to go. It is the Lord who establishes our steps. We must

surrender our desires and seek God’s will, trusting that He is the one leading us on the right path. After

all, we can’t get to heaven on our own, so we don’t want to risk getting lost or missing our eternal

destination.

Think about times when we don’t follow God’s lead or listen to His direction, and instead go our own way.

We might be too prideful to ask for help, or decide to trust our instincts because “I know how to run my

own life, thank you.” The consequences can find us in tough, sometimes harmful situations. Especially

during those times we need to remember that we need God every moment of every day and that it is of

the utmost importance that we listen to Him in faith. 

While paying attention to God’s word and direction, we still might experience good and bad things along

the way that we never anticipated nor would ever want. But if we keep using his compass by reading the Bible, praying and trusting in the Lord, we will always be where God intends, doing what He needs us to

do. Remain in the Word, pray and ask God for direction, and stay close to Him, even when He has you

going down a path that doesn’t appear to make sense or go where you think you should. Jesus says,

“Follow me,” several times in the Bible. Do it. Hold onto your faith in Him.

Janet Schultz