One of my most treasured items that I have since moving to the big city is my GPS! After a few weeks of bonding I finally picked out a name...Anastasia. She has been a life saver. Many times showing me where I needed to go. Grocery store, mall, post office , church, etc... Funny thing about my GPS is that I do whatever she tells me without question. This is kinda strange because I don't like anybody telling me what to do...yeah I am kind of stubborn that way :)
I was given an awesome devotional "Jesus calling" by Sarah Young. Every day it emphasizes that God has a plan for each of us but that is dependent on our trust in Him and continually staying in communication to hear exactly what He wants us to do or where He wants us to be.
Isaiah 30:21
"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it."Just as Anastasia prompts me with directions of right turn ahead or take the freeway, God also gives us directions. Sometimes prompting us to move forward, stay where we are, or retreat and never look back. The one key element for these instructions is to get plugged in and listen. Your GPS doesn't do you any good sitting in your glove compartment. Well neither does your bible do you any good sitting on a shelf collecting dust. Whether we realize it or not we have the awesome privilege of owning bibles, being able to express our faith in public, and worship our God without fear of persecution.
Psalm 32:8
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you."
In this verse there are four promises that God makes to us on our journey. That He will instruct and teach us but He doesn't just stop once He equips us with knowledge. He also promises to counsel and watch over us. This is indicative of a relationship. God isn't in the business of just teaching us and once we learn the ropes we are set out on our own...left to our own devices. That's what happens when you are in a new city with your GPS. You are so dependent on it in the beginning...after time you learn your way around and eventually you don't need to use it very often. God doesn't want that kind of relationship with us. He craves for a daily dependent relationship with you and me. He leads us step by step but we have to be willing to do what He asks and this doesn't always coincide with "our" agenda, now does it. However who has the bigger picture perspective..us or God??
We are under the false assumption that we know what is best for us and don't even think about consulting with our heavenly Father. Every choice that we make turn us down a path...sometimes it is the right one and other times we have to recalculate to find our way back to God. The most important thing is that God never leaves us...He is always waiting with an outstretched hand ready for us to follow Him.