Direction

God used the situation of a misguided GPS to show me that even when I am lost, I AM FOUND.

You know that saying, “The best laid plans… go awry.” I have pretty much lived on that boulevard lately. I planned to do a lot of things this week and couldn’t seem to find the time. I am pretty sure I was late to everything over the last few days and it was out of my hands each time. I planned to write this edition (I sheepishly admit as I am typing) yesterday and the day before and the day before. And every single day something got in the way.

I think I should be used to this happening by now—you know life turning out differently than expected, but the last few days have held extra difficulties against my hoped agenda.

Yesterday I blindly followed the GPS on my phone to an eating place that was supposed to be 1.2 miles away. I was unfamiliar with the area I was in and needed something quick so I could get back to work. Five minutes and a lot of crazy left turns led to ten minutes and then fifteen and I still had not reached the place. A final right turn inspired my GPS to shout that we had arrived at the destination proudly. The only problem was when I looked around there was nothing in sight. No restaurants. No indication of where I was. No recognizable landmarks.

I wasn’t exactly sure where I was as I tried to come up with a plan B. You would think that in 15 minutes I would have seen somewhere to eat but I hadn’t come across anything. Somehow I worked my way back towards work and became hungrily frantic for any place that served food. I pulled into the parking lot of where I had started and looked up into a hidden little street and happily saw a restaurant. As I drove up for closer inspection, I looked to my right and saw the place I had been trying to get to on my GPS all along and it had been in walking distance.

As I retold the story later that day it was kind of funny, but as I was going through it I had not been amused. That gentle, Holy voice ran through my head.

Use Your Perspective. What’s the silver lining?

I guess it taught me that life is not necessarily about how I get to the destination but trusting that I will get there even when it does not look like it. All the turns and re-routing had led my heart to a place where I had to depend on Something outside of me. I got to the place I intended to go all along, but God used the situation of a misguided GPS to show me that even when I am lost, I AM FOUND. Even when I can’t see where I am headed, I can trust I will get there.

It may not be very profound but I needed to hear it. I needed to be reminded of God’s closeness and faithfulness this week. I like to wrap these things up in neat little bows, but even that doesn’t always happen. As I thought about my first sentence though, I immediately thought of another.

“We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer…We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” -Proverbs  16:1,9

Chris Tomlin once said at a concert, “We don’t have it all together, but we serve a God who holds it all together.”

Plans may go awry. Directions may fail but the work of the Lord stands forever. Surrender your plans to Him. He's got the whole world in His hands.

-Only Hope