A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. II Peter 3:8b-9a
When you reach my age and the truth reveals that you have many more days behind you than ahead, it becomes easier to see that God has provided numerous little detours in life that were intended as teaching moments. It’s a little like hiking in unfamiliar territory…..Ken and I were both outdoor people long before we met, so hiking was just a part of our collective DNA. We climbed the tallest peaks in Missouri, traversed some of the tallest in Colorado, and hoofed it up Clingman’s Dome in the Smokies many times. On these journeys, our trail was well marked, but there were days when a simple hike in whichever park we currently called home became a maze of unknowns. We seldom took a compass because Ken had an uncanny sense of direction and, even on an unmarked trail, he would typically figure out where we were and set us back on the right trail in no time at all.
But set him down in the middle of Springfield, MO, or Savannah, GA, Dallas, TX, or Nashville, TN, and suddenly he doesn’t know east from west, north from south. He’s a natural at reading the signs displayed by the sky, the earth, plants, and even animals. He can find his way out of almost any of God’s incredible creations, but when humans mess it up with roads and buildings, massive confusion sets in. This should be our cue to avoid large cities, wouldn’t you think? But sometimes we don’t heed our teaching moments.
Most of our long-distance traveling was enjoyed when we were younger, and paper maps were our guide. Read McNally was pretty good at adding cutaway versions of larger cities, but often the enlarged map was still too small to include less-traveled side streets, and if changes occurred, those maps typically weren’t updated in a very timely manner. And often I, as chief navigator, found myself confused by a road that seemingly ended with no visible outlet. This led to some uncomfortable moments, especially if the weather became a factor or we found ourselves staring at a dead-end sign. I must admit, sometimes tempers flared.
Fortunately, along came a little tool called GPS. It has immensely eased the burden of navigating big cities. Being able to zoom in on tricky interchanges has taken a lot of the guesswork out of traveling and made for calmer days. Of course, the voice offering directions can sometimes become a little irritating and make the occasional error, but all in all, I find it much more efficient than paper maps stretching all across the front seat of the car, and we are now able to reach almost any destination… eventually!
Life is filled with unmarked trails, many leading to destinations that could harm us. If we don’t pay attention to the road signs or listen to that irritating little voice, we can find ourselves in some pretty dark alleys. So, how do we know which road to take?
Your teacher will be right there, local and on the job, urging you on whenever you wander left or right. Isaiah 30:21 MSG
Just as we sometimes find ourselves temporarily lost on the literal trails we hike or highways that we travel, so can we discover we’ve taken a wrong turn with one life choice or another. We may feel uncomfortable in our career choice, or perhaps the one we thought would be a perfect life companion turns out not to be so perfect after all. Perhaps we’ve made a darker choice that led us to a boxed-in canyon that seems to have no way out. There is always a way out if we listen to the one voice our heart and mind can accept as authentic. Jesus won’t let us down. The right way may seem to take us in circles, but in the end, he’ll do what’s best for us. Our task is to stay focused on that quiet voice that always provides the right directions and will be the only GPS we ever need.
Sometimes God lets us lose hope for a moment so we’ll retrace our steps and find Him all over again. Bob Goff
