God’s Positioning System

Remember the old days of paper maps? You left a pen mark on the map of where you were going and tried to read the map while you were driving. At times, you had to pull over and look at things again. It was time consuming and frustrating. Now we have a GPS! We have a friendly voice telling us where to turn and how to get to our destination.

As a believer, I have a new GPS. My first step is to follow the road God has planned for me. “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope .” Jer. 29:11 He has a route/plan even before we are born. We might think we know the path for our life or intentionally come up with a route we choose to take. As humans, we don’t have the ability to see everything on that path. “In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”  Prov. 16:9 We can’t see accidents or traffic jams, or roads closed. Sometimes, road obstacles are good and divine delays. “The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand our steps along the way?” Prov. 20:24

We just know that our destination is eternal life with Him at our mansion in the sky. Put in your eternal destination on the GPS. H-E-A-V-E-N “I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.” John 14:4

When you type in your destination, the system finds the best route FOR YOU based on distance, traffic, accidents and road types. There are things on the route that are more important than your destination. “Show me your ways, Lord; teach me your paths.” Psalm 25:4

The fact that you don’t necessarily know the route ahead of time, makes you go a little slower and notice things along the way. “How much more will hasty feet miss the way!” Prov. 19:2b

As you drive, the GPS continuously updates your coordinates to track your movement speed and direction. It recalculates as things pop up. It adjusts your route around or through accidents or traffic or detours. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Rom. 12:2 The renewing of our minds is the ultimate spiritual recalibration.

The screen and voice prompts tell you when and where to turn ahead of time. If you listen, the ride will go smoothly. If you don’t listen the timing and outcome may not be the same. Just like grace, the GPS does not yell at you when you miss a turn. When we get off course, He immediately starts recalculating another plan or how to get us back on track. He will ALWAYS get you where you need to be - one way or another.

One thing my God Positioning System has that my GPS does not, is that God is NEVER out of range. He’s always close by. “He is not far from any one of us. For in Him, we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:27-28

A GPS is the hidden universal backbone (central support) for precise timing and location that keeps society running smoothly. My GPS is my God Positioning System. God is my central support system in my core (heart) that keeps me going, in His time, and on my path to keep me even and straightforward no matter the curves and obstacles on my path. “The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.” Isaiah 26:7

God, Show me your ways, not Waze.

God, Be my planning and mapping service, not Google.

God, don’t let me follow Apple Maps right into sin!