Recalculating: According to God

{PD}

I have to admit, using a GPS for traveling in uncharted countryside is definitely helpful—some say necessary. Although my family doesn’t own one, we’ve borrowed my parents’ for a couple long-distance trips.

If you can stand the constant mantra of “recalculating,” it is a trusty little device. That is, until it’s not…

In my limited exposure, I’ve actually been steered wrong by this little directional device: Looking for a road that doesn’t exist, turning down a street closed for construction.

Honestly, given the option, I prefer to use maps and my own intellect. Unfortunately, I attempt to use that same combination to navigate through life as well. Not always with positive results.

Being my own navigator goes pretty well until I get into a tangle of twists and turns and one ways. Hopelessly lost, I become more frustrated with each dead end, with each rough road.

This is a pattern in my life. I live an “I-can-find-my-own-way” mentality (even if not actually voicing that thought out loud) until I finally find myself in a strange, lonely, often scary place with an empty gas tank.

Can you relate? Do you find yourself steering through life by your own power?

Let me encourage you, dear readers, there is a better way.

When God breathed life into you, into me, He imprinted His ultimate plan on our being. He created each of us with a route on His map. Along with our purpose, came a promise:

“If anyone loves God, he is known by God” (1 Corinthians 8:2, ESV).

In other words, God will remain with us. To guide us. To lead us safely through the tangle of streets. To strengthen us. To fill us up when our gas tank runs empty.

But will I let Him?

Will I let the Lord in the driver’s seat of my life? Or will I continue to wrestle the steering wheel from His nail-scarred hands?

The question really is, do I trust Him to order my steps? I mean, really trust Him … even on the bumpy roads? Even when the sands shift and the winds blow—do I trust Him then?

I may think I know where I’m going, but all I can see along the journey is what lies outside the car windows. God sees it all, the entire trip: each turn and every pothole. He knows when I will have a flat tire, when the windshield fluid will run low. He has even planned the necessary stops for refueling.

Given His omniscience and endless love for me, it makes sense to quit recalculating my own life and let the Lord do it. Then I am sure to get to the right destination, detours and all.

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand” (Psalm 37:23–24).

Knowing God created you with a purpose and a plan, do you choose to travel His route in your life’s journey? If not, what is stopping you? What fears, concerns, or issues propel you to calculate your own course?

Linking with The Faith Barista for the Thursday Faith Jam on Trust.


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By His grace ≈

Julie