“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.””
–Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
We had to be at an appointment by 10 o’clock last Friday, so we set out, giving ourselves what we thought would be plenty of travel time. Chatting leisurely and making a quick soda stop on the way weren’t any concern to us, but we didn’t count on the GPS problems.
You see, our friend had never been to this nursing home, where we were to minister and entertain. It turned out that he had a general idea of where to go, but he needed specific directions. Thanks to SIRI, we got driving directions on my iPhone, but we found that decision to be a mistake, as all that extra time we thought we had began to slip through our fingers.
I guess you could say we got a free scenic tour of the city. We went on what seemed like a circular path for several minutes. We only grew more confused as time went by, and in frustration we searched for one street after another. Looking back, our circuitous route reminds me of a bad, slow ride at Disneyland.
“That girl on the phone should be fired!” our friend said, berating the voice of SIRI as she jabbered at him. “I wish I had gone the way I knew about in the first place.”
I thought, “Self-driving cars? Give me a break! We can’t even get the GPS to be efficient.” But that’s another subject for another time. I just brought that up to say I wanted some good old-fashioned human direction, instead of an electronic voice telling us where to go.
Well, there was nobody around to ask directions from at that moment, and we grew even more conscious of the clock’s relentless ticking. My wife will tell you that I have a fear o f being late, and I almost started to panic. So with great spiritual insight, I called out to God.
“That’s what you should have done when starting out,” you say. My reply is, “I wish you had been there to remind me then.”
When it looked like our appointment time was getting too close for comfort, I called the front desk of the care center, but the receptionist wasn’t too helpful as far as finding the right building was concerned. Then my mind turned back to God, and I thought how much like life this was.
Just think of the 40 years the children of Israel spent wandering in the wilderness. If you’re like me, you probably wonder how they made it that long without air conditioning.
If you look at the biblical record of these events in Exodus, you’ll learn that Moses’ companions didn’t do very well. They were constantly complaining and blaming God for their wilderness wanderings.
Isn’t that a lot like you and me? When we are traveling a circular path in life, isn’t it because we listen to the wrong voices? They promise to get us to our destination more quickly, but unfortunately, like that GPS, they just get us more hopelessly lost and prolong our journey in the wilderness.
I hate to tell you this, but we are not much different than the children of Israel in more ways than one. Sometimes we all listen to the voice of self-gratification instead of the will of God, and we want to return to our own private Egypts.
But as much as we love to go our own way and move ahead of God, our self-guided paths will only lead us on a scenic tour that passes the same places again and again. Our idea of the right route may look easier or more fun to us, but in the end it’ll keep leading us around in circles, and we’ll become more and more off-track from God’s plan for us.
This week, I challenge you to tune out all the other voices you tend to listen to, and keep your mental ears out for God’s guiding voice instead. This may be very hard to do in our age of ever-present technology and communication, but if you work at it, you’ll be able to hear God a little more every day.
If you don’t know God yet, I urge you to start learning more about Him today. Take the time to study God’s Word and learn more about our loving Father. Then, prayerfully ask God to forgive your sins and come into your heart.
Whether you know Him or not, nobody enjoys being lost or wandering in circles. So in order to find His direction for us in life, don’t rely on a GPS. Instead, start tuning into God’s positioning system today!
Don’t forget–if you need prayer, please feel free to call 507.369.6861.
Thank you for reading this, and may the Lord give you a wonderful week! We are trying to reach people who are hurting, so if God lays it on your heart, please consider becoming a partner with us. If you would like to make a donation, please visit www.hcmachaplains.org and click on the Donate Now link. You can also send donations by mail to HCMA (Healthcare Chaplains Ministry Association). Our ID number is 560. The address is 101 S Kraemer BLVD, Suite 123A, Placentia, CA 92870.
Finally, you’re always welcome to join our Tuesday night Bible study. These studies are conducted by conference call, and they take place at 5:30 PM Arizona time. Our conference number is 712-432-6498. When prompted, press 1 for live chat rooms, and we’ll be waiting in room 31. You can press pound to bypass our friend Sharon’s intro message once you’ve entered room 31. We hope to talk with you soon!
If you have questions, comments or prayer requests for Timothy or Stephanie Burdick, please call 507-369-6861.