Thursday, March 27, 2014
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Most women have learned that men are never lost. Oh no! Or so men think. Some man is driving, let's say, from Chicago to L.A., and his wife says, "Honey, why did we just enter Pennsylvania?" Is he lost? Oh, no, no! He's exploring a new scenic route.
Now, I have to be realistic and admit that I can get lost; especially if it's in an area I'm unfamiliar with. And it really depends on my sense of direction, which isn't much sense at all. My wife on the other hand? Oh, she's the farm girl; great sense of direction. I've learned over the years that she's great with a map. And, she's very good at evaluating our options and picking the road that will get us there the fastest. So, on a typical trip you would see me driving and her with an atlas in her lap, telling me the road or the exit that's next. I don't need to see the map; I've got a great navigator.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Navigator and the Map."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 37:3-5; wonderful advice for the choices, the challenges that you may have ahead of you right now, and maybe for the road that is pretty new to you. You've got questions about what to do, where to go, or when, or how. Well, listen to God's Word. "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this." Or as the King James says, "He will bring it to pass." That's one of the anchor verses of my life and my wife's life right there.
Now, as you look at what's ahead, you probably wish you had a detailed map. I would like to have one, but you don't have one. Even if you did, it's subject to all kinds of variables beyond your control. There's nothing in these verses about trusting in the plan or in the map. You don't have a map, but you do have a Navigator, and He has the map. Just like my wife and me on a trip in new territory. I don't have to see the map. I just need to trust the Navigator. I need to pay attention to the Navigator.
Our job as Jesus followers? Well, it says, "Trust in the Lord", not in a map. "Delight yourself in the Lord", not in the map. "Commit your way to the Lord." Just as I ask my wife, "What's next, Honey?" You and I just stay close to our Lord and ask Him, "What's the next step, Lord?" My wife the navigator doesn't usually tell me the next five turns we're going to take. I'd probably get them confused. All I really need to know is the next step. That's how your divine Navigator wants to take you through this next phase of your journey, showing you one next step or turn at a time.
In changing seasons, in uncertain seasons we tend to focus on God's will; that perfect cosmic plan that seems like such a massive mystery. But the focus isn't supposed to be on the plan. It's supposed to be on the planner. Not on the map, but on the Navigator. It's easy for God to show you what He wants you to do. It's hard to get you to do what He wants.
So these times of choice and challenge are designed to draw you deeper into Him; to motivate you to spend greater amounts of time in God's Word and in God's presence, and to get you to release your schemes and your dreams so He can lead you into His dream; to sensitize you to recognize and obey those inner promptings of the Holy Spirit. And as we need guidance and we need to know what next step to take, it drives us into His Word. It drives us into needing Him and to learning to listen to His Holy Spirit. It's good stuff.
Maybe you're on some bumpy road right now because you started handling the map and choosing the roads. None of us is designed to be our own navigator. When we are, we will inevitably get lost. The map is God's business; don't worry about it. Your job is to listen very carefully to your Lord, the Navigator. I love the old saying, "God reserves His very best for those who leave the choice to Him." He will show you the road you were made for one obedience at a time.