Guidance.

 

My car is fitted with a modern Satellite Navigation device on the dashboard and it has my home address in its memory, so when I was leaving the Orana Mall recently, (just for fun), I decided to allow it to guide me home so I tapped my finger on “Home” (whilst I was still in the car park, facing North) and immediately the display showed me how far from home I was and what it estimated my time of arrival would be, whilst a friendly voice said “drive 20 metres and turn left and then turn left again down Wheeler’s lane.” As you can see it also gave me a map with an arrow showing the way: This meant that I would now be driving South when I actually live in a Westerly direction. Did the voice get it wrong then? No, it just knew that sometimes we have to detour around obstacles in order to arrive at our destination, so as soon as I had followed those instructions it then said “travel 300 Metres to the next roundabout and turn right, and leave the roundabout at the third exit onto the Mitchell Highway” (that meant that if I did as it instructed I would then be travelling West towards my home). So that was good guidance.

However, due to a number of circumstances, I failed to do as I was told and left the roundabout at the second exit, (instead of the third), which meant that I was still travelling in a Southerly direction, which was wrong. I am pleased to say though that the voice didn’t criticise me or call me a “Twit” or abandon me as hopeless. No, it just said “recalculating” and in a minute said “continue 300 metres and turn right at the next roundabout and take the fourth exit”. Which I did, and that took me right back to the place where I had made my “mistake” and I’m pleased to say it didn’t make any nasty comment there either but merely said “please turn left down the Mitchell Highway, which I did and then I was driving West in the direction of my home as it had originally told me to.

This whole exercise reminded me of our relationship with God, because just as the satellite knows exactly where we are at any given time and what is the best direction for us to travel (whilst not criticising us for our “mistakes”), so God knows exactly where we are as we travel the road through life towards our ultimate goal of a home in Heaven. He also has agreed to delete from his memory any sin we may have committed provided that we accept the forgiveness offered to us through Jesus sacrifice, and he has also given us a road map which He expects us to follow, showing the best way and how to avoid pitfalls. For example, Proverbs 3: 5 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths”, (that is how we trust the satellite navigation system to guide us too). There is however, a very great difference and that is that God is our loving Father, whereas that satellite gadget is just a machine. Consequently, God sees the spiritual side of our lives, and cares about our feelings and our wellbeing. His main interest is to guide us as a “good shepherd” looks after his sheep, and as Jesus sheep we can also seek his protection, which we really need because Ephesians 6:12 tells us that “we don’t struggle against flesh and blood” (people) but against the unseen works of darkness. So as we walk with our complete faith in Him we find ourselves protected by Him like that sheep in this illustration. Consequently, we can have that “peace that passes

understanding” (Philippians 4:7), and sing or recite “In God’s green pastures feeding, by the still waters lie, soft in the evening walk my Lord and I. Oh the sheep of His pasture fare so wonderfully fine, His sheep am I, waters cool, in the valley, pastures green, on the mountain, step by step, step by step, my Lord and I”. Which is what the 23^rd Psalm implies. Romans Chapter 8 and verse 39 confirms this by saying that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.             Best wishes. Tom.