God is my GPS

I shared last week about how much I loved using a GPS when I traveled to Washington, D.C. I'm telling you, this thing was great. It was like I was playing a video game, and my only goal was to keep the arrow (my car) on the red line (my route). Remember that old arcade game Pole Position? It felt a lot like that . . . just use the steering wheel to keep the car in the right place.

What occurred to me at some point during my drive was how utterly dependent I became on this device. I had printed out directions from Mapquest the night before, but about an hour into my drive, I could tell that the GPS was not sending me the same way Mapquest did. Who to trust? Since the GPS could actually steer me back on course were I to go wrong, I went with that.

Which, of course, meant that I had absolutely no idea where I was going. I was completely blindly following this red-lined route and taking the next turn whenever the device told me to. In fact, I told my dad, I became so pitifully dependent that I didn't even look at speed limit signs anymore because the device told me what the speed limit was and how fast I was going and even beeped at me when I was driving too fast.

So, basically, I knew my final destination was D.C., but I had no clue what roads I should choose to get me there.

I think I had more faith in the GPS device than I have in God sometimes. He sees the whole map, knows every road and trail and exactly where each will lead. He loves me, and that love for me drives His every direction, yet still I don't always trust. I pray that I will learn to surrender my will to the One who knows the way. If it be His good pleasure to send me on an easy, beautiful road or a difficult, painful road, so be it. My life is in His most trustworthy and sovereign hands, and it would be in my best interest to stop trying to navigate my own road.

If only He would beep at my when I'm not listening well enough.