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“A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way? Proverbs 20:24 (ESV)

Have you ever tried to over navigate your Google directions? I’m definitely geographically challenged and can get lost ever so easily. So why I would even consider overriding Google maps is insane.

This summer I headed to the DMV in Bedford and thought I remembered its exact location. Have to admit, I hadn’t visited this DMV since my son got his learner’s permit (too many years to count). And to make sure I arrived in time for my appointment, I pulled up the DMV in Google maps and drove out my driveway. Crazy thing is Google was so wrong (or so I thought). It kept taking me around and around in a circle headed towards the Bedford Walmart. I would switch and go another way in hopes of seeing that all too familiar building only to end up back at the Walmart parking lot. Finally I gave in, and you will never believe it but the DMV moved into one of the buildings located at Walmart.

While I can laugh and get frustrated over my attempts to override Googles directions, I would have never reached my desired destination if I’d kept charting my own path to get there.

Sweet friends, how many times do we land in this place of charting our own course in life only to find we are circling in the wrong direction? Yes, I’ve landed in this place too many times. Why? Because my directed course looks so familiar so it must be right.

One big problem here  – when we chart our course, we forget that God doesn’t always take us down the same path on repeat. Often He will lead in a different direction because that is where growth and transformation will take place. When unfamiliar stares us in the face, we are stretched outside our comfort zone and our self-sufficiency no longer serves us well. In those moments, we must pivot and lean on God’s wisdom and guidance to arrive at the perfect destination He has planned.

Sounds so easy, but it is hard to release our direction and embrace His. Yet it is totally worth it every time. Our limited perspective only sees one way…one direction. What worked in the past – what we envision for now. God’s divine perspective sees everything, and He alone knows how all things work and fit together to accomplish His purposes. The direction He has for today will teach us to trust Him more and position us for His best.

New paths are new opportunities to lean into God’s wisdom and embrace the growth He desires to accomplish in us. New paths open up new challenges which require utter dependence on God’s strength. New paths offer us a deeper relationship with the One who always leads us in the victory – it’s a win, win, we have nothing to lose.

“Father thank You for charting our course, leading us and guiding us each step of the way. Following hard after You never disappoints and it’s the best way to live our lives.”

 
For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life