About five years ago, I
visited my middle brother and his family in California. You need to understand that as I
have lived most of the last twenty years in Indonesia, only returning to the
States for visits, I am often amazed by technology that is old to others, but
new to me.
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In this case, I was amazed
by the talking GPS in their car. We were heading somewhere. The destination
isn’t important. Steve had entered the destination into the GPS, and off we
went. He’d hear something like:
“Take the exit ramp on the right in 200 feet.”
Unfortunately, we were on
the inside lane of a busy, multi-lane highway, and couldn’t get over in time.
We missed the exit. No problem for the GPS. We hear the female voice say:
“Recalculating route.”
In a few seconds, Miss GPS
gives another instruction.
“Take the exit ramp on the right in 200 feet…100 feet…50 feet.”
We manage to get off at that
exit, and Miss GPS gives further instructions. We eventually get to our
destination.
In the case above, we
couldn’t help missing the exit ramp the first time. Then there are the times
when drivers won’t follow Miss GPS’s
instructions because they are sure they know a better way. Maybe they are
right. After all, the satellite might not yet know about the water line being
dug up along the road Miss GPS is telling you to use. Other times, the driver
just thinks they know better, and end up in a lot of trouble.
No matter what the reason
for ignoring Miss GPS, she is unphased. You take a turn different from what was
instructed, for whatever reason. She simply says,
“Recalculating route.”
She gets you back on track.
Now, I know that a GPS
system is not fool-proof. I am sure there are thousands of stories out there of
people who followed their GPS and got into a hopeless snarl. No man-made system
is perfect.
I’d just like to point out
that we have Someone much more reliable than Miss GPS to guide us through our
lives. Our Heavenly Father is always working, always speaking, always there to
guide us. He is never inaccurate. He always has complete information. If we
follow His guidance, we will always end up where we need to be. That is not
saying His road will always be easy, but it will always be right.
The trouble is, sometimes we
fail to listen to Him. Sometimes we hear, but think we know better. We go our
own way…and we find ourselves in trouble.
The wonderful thing is that
when we find ourselves “lost in a rough part of town” spiritually speaking,
because we chose our own way, our Heavenly Father will say,”
“Recalculating route.”
He is well able to get us
back on the right road. We may see things, or go through difficult areas that we would
not have had to experience had we followed His route in the first place, but He
will be with us. He never gives up on us.
If you find yourself at a
point in your life right now where taking off in your own direction has gotten
you into a mess, take heart. Your Heavenly Father is saying,
“Recalculating route.”
Follow His guidance this
time, and He will get you back on track.
Without good direction, people lose their way
Proverbs 11:14
How many of us Americans are more likely to follow the instructions of a piece of technology, than a loving Father?
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy. I love the "Miss GPS".
It's kind of funny. Every time I have returned to the States for a visit over the past twenty years, I have found some "new" piece of technology that amazed me. Miss GPS was my point of amazement for 2007.
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