Lost with Guidance

Scriptures: “How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you….Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:17-18, 23-24)

A few weeks ago, we were in northern California for a family trip. Part of the trip was to visit Sausalito, a beautiful town along the San Francisco Bay. After the sight-seeing, shopping and a dinner, it was time to go. Knowing the traffic in San Francisco, I decided to take a different route, to go around the San Francisco Bay. And, since that was not an area that we were familiar with, we turned on our GPS (Global Position System).

Well, it really wasn’t a bad plan. That is, until I saw on I-580 East a sign indicating a connection to I-80. This sign came out not long after we crossed the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. When I saw it, I thought to myself, “Wow, we are at I-80 already? We can’t be too far from home now.” So, I exited out of I-580 and followed the sign.

The off-ramp took us to a local street which winded through an industrial area and went on for about 8 miles before it connected to I-80. All along, I thought I was taking a short-cut. I forgot that there was something missing on that sign, the direction. It only said I-80. There was no indication of whether it’s going North or South, East or West. So, when we went back on I-80 Freeway, we were actually going north and going farther away from our destination.

All throughout this journey, our GPS has been prompting us to turn around. “Make a U-Turn at the next legally allowed turning point,” it kept saying. It was doing that since the very beginning when I decided to go north on State Highway 101. The calculated route of the GPS was to go south through San Francisco downtown which was what I wanted to avoid. So I kept ignoring the prompts of GPS. This went on for a long time. But I was so sure that we were going for the right direction that not only did I ignore its prompting, I turned it off because it was getting to the point of annoying me.

Then we saw the sign to connect I-780. That was a freeway that I had no idea of and that alarmed us. Plus, it was already late and dark. It should not be that far. So, we decided to stop and check the map. As we stopped in a residential area, someone there was very kind to offer her help. She told us that we were actually in the city of Vallejo, a city in the opposite direction of where we wanted to go, and gave us pointers to get back to the way we should have been on.

As we drove back, we turned on the GPS again and, this time, GPS was actually agreeing with us. Following the directions from GPS, we were able to get to our destination in about 1 hour and concluded our 3 hour drive all over Bay area.

This morning, as I was reading Psalm 139, I couldn’t help drawing the parallel between this trip and what the psalmist asked of our Lord, “lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:24) I have to confess that I often thought I have everything figured out. I know where I am going and I know how to get there. So, I kept charging forward without checking with our Lord. Worse yet, especially during times when I thought I have everything in place, I may have consciously or unconsciously turned off the prompting of the Holy Spirit and went on my way.

In every single instance when I did that, they all resulted in the same situation, chaos and confusions. But, unfortunately, I often found out only afterwards. Bible tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverb 3:5-6)

If you ask me, “How could someone get lost with guidance?” The answer is simple. Though the guidance is available, this person must have ignored the guidance. That was my case. Luckily, we only lost a couple of hours this time. But the lesson learned was precious.

Someone used to say that “Life is an adventure.” It is in the sense that there’s so much we don’t know about it. Moving forward in life is like stepping into unchartered territories. For us, it is an adventure and every decisions and choices made has an impact down the road, some desirable and others not.

But our God is good. He does not leave us alone in this world, facing all uncertainties with our own strengths. He provides us with His guidance through His Word, living and written, and with His presence through the Holy Spirit. When we heed His guidance, unknown territory becomes promise land and aimless journey becomes goal-driven mission. He alone is the Creator and the Definer of our lives!

Are you still searching for the direction and meaning of your life? Search no more. Go to Him for He has all the answers!

Prayer Requests:
For all those lost in the highways and byways of life

Prayer:
Father God, as life throws many curves and signs that derails our focus on You, grant us the wisdom and obedience to trust in You and Your guidance through Your Word and Spirit in all our ways for we pray in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus, Amen!