MY Way on the Highway?

Remember the folded up maps we once used when we headed out for road trips? I loved being the navigator! Those maps, and I, most certainly kept us right on course to get to our destination faster. And, that was important, because we didn't do a lot of dilly dallying when it came to road trips.

But it's a new era! "Personal Navigation Systems" are found in vehicles and smartphones all over the world. The first PNAs were hand-held units used by the U.S. military. Today that technology is supported by 24 satellites orbiting the earth, with three available at any one time for our device to use. WOW! There's just no reason why we should EVER get lost if we followed the voice of Miss GPS. Even still, I'll hear her, and think "MY way is better", and before long she's saying "Make a legal U-turn!" And, I think, "If only I'd followed her directions!" The most sophisticated directional technology in the world is not much help if we won't follow its directions.

And it's the same with listening and following the directions of He Who knows everything about everything and is ALWAYS accurate in His course directions. When we follow God's instructions, and not waver off the path He's laid out for us, or think "my way is better"...then, there will be no anxiety or concern about getting lost -- He'll make sure we'll get to where we need to go, and arrive when we need to get there!!

I posted this scripture yesterday, but it merits repeating today. "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." Proverbs 3:5-6

Lent Means Course Correction

What you may not know about me is that I’m a Private Pilot. So I have a little extra help with the notion of “I believe I can fly”. We had a single engine Cessna 182 – a sweet ride. We logged many hours flying across this great country. Though I haven’t flown in a while, I remember some crucially important things that ensured landing where, and when, we intended. Wind speed and wind direction requires course corrections throughout the flight. A strong wind can certainly take you off course. Constant “tweaking” is necessary. All it takes is to be off just a few degrees and you can end up in Timbuktu, instead of the intended destination.

And isn’t that true in our own lives? Our emotions, our bodies, and our spirits may get off course by “negative winds” that we’ve let come in. They may have come in by the company we keep, the food choices we’ve made, some unhealthy habits, some compromising of our ethics and integrity, or literally missing the mark. Perhaps, it’s time for tweaking and correcting our course. The winds can certainly slow us down, and take us completely off course -- not to mention keep us from receiving the blessings that could have been ours if we were on track. Tomorrow, the Lenten season begins -- the 40 days that precedes the passion of Christ and Easter -- the time we deliberately focus our attention on getting it right – getting our hearts right. It’s the perfect time to make course corrections – where we make the adjustments necessary to be fully devoted followers of Christ. “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10. I promise you….this is the stuff that helps us fly higher than we’ve EVER flown before.