Directionally Challenged

Recently, the Lord was talking to me about feet.  I looked up verses regarding feet, direction, walking, paths, etc.  One of the passages I read was Psalms 37:23-24 (ESV).

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.

I shared with a few others that the Lord is the One Who directs us and establishes us.  However, in order to be established by Him, we have to be willing to walk submitted to Him.  We need to be able to follow His directions.

One of my foibles is that I am geographically directionally challenged.  I simply don’t have that brain “mapping” skill that some people are blessed to have.  Before the days of Garmin and map applications on smartphones, this presented a severe handicap when I had to drive somewhere new.  Candidly, there are numerous stories I prefer not to share due to this deficit, but as I listened to a sermon regarding making Godly decisions, God prompted me to share a few as a blog and attach some spiritual applications along the way.

Not all roads lead to the same place

When I first got my driver’s license, I referenced most destinations by a single street in town.  My mom would be giving me directions to run an errand for her, and I would respond, “Yes, but how do you get there using Bosque?”  Obviously, in most places, including where I lived at the time, this is not the most efficient or effective way to navigate.  It’s simply impossible to get everywhere necessary.

Perhaps you relate in a slightly different context.  Maybe you have a bad habit or a sinful fleshly desire you keep returning to as your “familiar street”.  If your destination is a more Christlike life, you cannot access your destination via this unhealthy reference point.

The world espouses a viewpoint that all religions (roads) lead to God.  That simply isn’t true.  Jesus is the only blameless man to walk the earth.  It is only by receiving the gift of His sacrifice and victory over death, that we are permitted to live with God eternally in Heaven.

However, there is a way to access God.  He provided one path that we must follow.  All that God has for us can be reached from this one narrow way.  We are each on a different journey but they all must be centered on Christ and the acceptance of Him alone as our Savior.

Missing the exit

Back to my directionally challenged examples–Years later, I needed to navigate Houston adequately to return to my parents’ house several cities over, after dropping Mark off at the airport.  He had just started a new job after our move to Colorado.  Since I was a stay at home mom, the plan was for me and the three kids to stay with my parents where there was more room to spread out, and we even had a pool to enjoy.

The return trip started okay.  I found the tollway entrance and went happily on my way.  I started to feel uneasy about how long I was on Beltway 8.  Upon seeing the same toll booth operator for a second time, it was confirmed that, somewhere, I had missed my exit.

I had an old cell phone with me, but the battery died mid-conversation with a family member that was trying to assist.  It was getting dark and that intensified matters for me.  Finally, in my frustration and anxiety laden state, I pulled off where I saw a gas station along the access road.  

I found a pay phone and called my dad in complete hysterics.  The basic gist of the call was, “Dad, I’m at a gas station in Houston (I couldn’t see any of the smaller street name signs but probably at least narrowed it to a chain of stations, for all the good that did). Come find me!”

In the meantime, I still had to care for the kids, and my resources for providing food, clean diapers, and distraction entertainment were beyond low.

Come find me

Sometimes, we can get lost as we journey in our Christian walk, too.  We start off great.  We have clear instructions and confidence as we follow them.  But somewhere along the way, we miss an exit and we’re no longer going the right direction. We may even find ourselves circling because we need to repeat that lesson until we gain more understanding.  God may shine His light on an area of our character that needs to shift.

That night, because I called and asked, my dad (and brother) came and found me.  I presume they must have had some divine assistance, because of the enormity of the task and the relatively short amount of time they took to locate us.

I can say with all certainty that if you call on the Father, and ask for help, He will meet you in your distress and guide you back.  Scripture says, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:12-14, ESV).

Getting started

Maybe you haven’t yet started your journey with Christ as your Savior.  Perhaps, you’ve started your journey and you’ve missed your exit or find yourself circling.  Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10, ESV).  If you’re lost, ask Father God to find you, forgive you, and establish your steps from this moment forward.  If you need someone to talk to you further about this, please reach out to Blue Fire Legacy. We’ll be happy to speak with you personally.