GPS GOD’S POSTIONING SYSTEM

Years ago if we were going on a trip we would get out the big road map and look at the routes and then try to plan the trip as efficiently as possible. There were all kinds of factors that interfered such as roads being closed, construction and accidents that could ruin the best laid travel plans. Now, we have GPS (Global Positioning System.) As I have absolutely no sense of direction and can get lost in our backyard, which is fenced, I love my GPS. It warns me of speed traps, accidents, traffic jams, construction and even reroutes me if necessary. Wouldn’t be nice if we had that technology in our personal lives? Well, guess what? We do!! God has a GPS System. It is God’s Positioning System for our lives.

As a Christian I believe that there is a still small voice that we all have and I believe that is the Holy Spirit. God’s GPS uses that voice just like your car’s GPS has a voice to tell you what to do to reach your destination. I also believe that all of us ignore that voice way too often.

We often ignore that voice because we want something so badly that we do not want it pointed out to us that what we want isn’t the best choice for us. How many of us married someone even though people and circumstances who were put in our path were showing us the error of that choice? Maybe you did not take a job because another opportunity caught your eye even though your gut told you it wasn’t the best option. The job you took looked more prestigious but time would show it wasn’t. Sometimes the temptation to make fast money has us not listening to that still small voice. Fast money is often tied to dangerous or even illegal options. Slow money is usually the best option but it is not as glamorous as fast money. Temptation in our path should be a big red flag but the glitter attached to the temptation can definitely lead us to once again ignore that voice. Young people are more inclined to ignore the voice especially if they haven’t been rooted in God’s word. Let’s be honest; those of us who are older and far more rooted in God’s word can find ourselves shoving that voice aside on occasion. However, when it comes to money issues young people often ignore the voice because they figure that they know all there is too know – plus they have plenty of years to earn more. That is not always the case and those of us that are older know how quickly circumstances can change and not always for the better. Just as we sometimes ignore the GPS in our car and go the way we want and then find ourselves in horrid traffic jam; we can ignore God’s GPS in our lives and find ourselves in mess that could have been avoided.

The Bible is also clear about making major decisions. Proverbs 15:22 tells us that with many counselors comes wisdom. Sadly, some people when they are making a poor choice will only go to people who they know will support their poor choice. A smart person will use their personal GPS and seek wise people, who have established themselves in the field they need advice in, and who known for their wisdom.

A friend of mine mentioned recently how he always tried to teach his children, when they are making a major decision to listen to their first gut reaction. That still voice behind that gut reaction is the Holy Spirit leading you.

There isn’t a person alive who hasn’t pushed that still voice aside and then made a decision they later regretted. However, if you get rooted in God’s Word you will find that those moments are far less common in your life. Wisdom comes with age; but the journey to that point doesn’t have to be so painful if we start at a young age to seek wise counsel to help us recognize that voice and then to listen to it.

I know people who are older and have never learned to hear that voice. They continue to make one bad choice after another and then they blame everyone but themselves. This is not a healthy way to live and certainly not what God wants for us.

If we are honest with ourselves, and that is not always easy to do, we can look back on our lives and see the times when we didn’t listen. Sometimes the damage is life long and can affect not just us but others in our lives. We can’t go back but we can move forward; and by reading God’s word we can learn how to be even more receptive to that still small voice.

Life has ups and downs and some are more severe than others. Circumstances that we never imagined can come crashing down on our otherwise smoothly running lives. We may find ourselves facing a life altering choice when we least expect, it but if we have our hearts open to God’s GPS then events will fall into place more easily. Life is hard sometimes but we can find events easier to accept if we know that God is still on the throne, and with HIs guidance we can get through even the darkest of times.