Last week, I started discussing how life is like hiking on a
trail through the woods. In the woods,
we must trust the one who created the trail to guide us to our destination and,
in life, we must trust the God who created us to guide us through the journey
of serving him to eternal life. And
while I planned to write some more about this topic, I did not know God would
give me some fresh insight from a crazy life experience.
After
writing last weeks post, I headed to a local park to do some trail
running. I selected a trail, cranked up
some music in my headphones, and headed into the woods. The trail was a bit rocky and had a slight
grade but was easy to follow with the bright green blazes (painted markings) on
the trees. At least it was easy to
follow until I reached a point with no more blazes. However, being the experienced woodsman that
I thought I was, I continued to run thinking I could just follow the warn path
on the ground. I did not take into
consideration that there would be a dozen other trails crisscrossing and
winding through the park. After running
for a few more minutes, it became obvious that I was not making any progress
and, as I frantically switched from trail to trail searching for the one that
would lead to freedom, I just got myself more lost. Eventually, I had to admit that I had no clue
where I was or what direction would lead me back to my car. So, like any
experienced woodsman, I did not panic but pulled out my smart phone. Thankfully, by using Google maps and a
compass app, I was able to navigate safely back to the car.
While I hope you have not had an experience
like this, many of us have had times in life where we feel completely lost. The trail of life is not always easy to
follow and there are always many different paths we can take and many different
people telling us to go different directions.
Like the smartphone in my story, we often need a map to guide us and a compass
to point us in the right direction. Thankfully,
God has given us these tools for life.
God’s map
for us is the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that the
Bible is the words of God written to us.
The Bible is useful for everything we encounter in life especially if we
desire to use our life to serve God. And
like a trail map, it keeps us on the right path. (Psalm 119:9)
A map,
however, is useless unless we have something to point us in the right
direction. This compass for life is the
Holy Spirit. While the Holy Spirit is
often ignored, he is a part of the Godhead, (Matthew 28:19) lives inside every
believer, (Ephesians 1:13) and is our
guide through life. (John 16:13) We
need to be utilizing this power by seeking his presence and his aid in prayer
as we study the Bible and as we encounter decisions in life.
When we read the map of the Bible
using the compass of the Holy Spirit, we can begin to see and better understand
the plan of God and how we can be a part of it. (1 Corinthians 2:10) We do not have to wonder through the woods of
life lost and unaided. Instead we need
to be using these tools everyday by spending intentional time in prayer and
Bible study seeking real life transformation.
Life is complex and difficult but God has given us direction and all we
have to do is use it.
No comments:
Post a Comment