They are EVERYWHERE: GPS or global positioning systems. You know a woman had to have developed this gadget because (Warning: sexist remark coming!) men won't ask for directions, but they sure will buy a gadget that will give them directions - especially if it will talk to them in a sexy, seductive, female voice. UGH! Nuni, Garmin, I am sure there are others, but ... are they really necessary? I know for my brother it is, and my friend Conrad used it as a backup when we got "slightly" lost headed to the restaurant when I visited with him in NYC in November. I sat there in amazement as he hooked up this little gadget that, after he entered the address, told him stuff like, "make a left in 200 yards"...ok, I don't know about you, but do you know how far 200 yards is? I'd rather it say stuff like, "at the next light, hang a left." That's what I do when I'm giving out directions from the passenger seat (although I have to admit, I am usually driving and impatiently waiting for my mother to serve as navigator...) I doubt that I will ever get a GPS for my car. Call me old-fashioned, but I'll go to aaa.com and get directions there or horror of horrors, actually pick up a phone and call for directions! (Although, sometimes that will make you want to poke a stick in your eye if the person on the other end doesn't know how to give good directions..."turn left at the Big Chicken" doesn't mean anything if you are not familiar with the famous Marietta GA landmark.)
Aren't you glad that when God gives directions, they are usually pretty straight forward? If you are listening for them, that is. I know there have been many times when God has given me a clear direction or instruction and I failed to listen - and ended up paying for my disobedience. Sometimes He speaks in a still, small voice and sometimes it is through the counsel and wisdom of His children. I will never forget the time my godsister tried to pray me out of a situation and in my desire to do my own will, I would not heed the counsel she was giving me - and in strict defiance of what I knew was the right thing to do
- I ended up driving around, lost and without direction, in a neighborhood that I thought I knew like the back of my hand. God truly has a funny sense of humor when dealing with His favorite child sometimes...but it was a lesson learned.
Isaiah 30:21 admonishes us, "...your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'..." That's your spiritual GPS at work. I know I need to tune in more often and not only listen to what is being said, but to act when moved. I wonder if you do as well. I pray that as we move through this year, we will listen more to the instructions being sent to us from above. I know it is for our good and in our best interest.
Be blessed.