"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.' "
(Isaiah 30:21)
A friend of mine recently shared some thoughts about how God isn't the God of only one chance, but that He is the God of many chances. As I thought about this, I started to think about how the Holy Spirit is like a GPS system that God installs in us when we become Christians.
Now, I don't a have a GPS navigator in my car, but I have been in enough cars with one that I am fairly familiar with how they work. One thing for certain, if you miss a turn or an exit, the little voice in the box doesn't say, "You stupid idiot! You missed your turn. Now you will never get to your destination. I don't even know why I bother with you!" On the contrary, the voice simply says, "Turn missed. Recalculating." In a few moments, it provides a new route to get you where you are going, and starts providing step by step directions. And if, by chance, you blow another turn, it simply repeats the process. Over and over again if necessary. Of course, by that time you should probably consider letting someone else drive for awhile.
God's GPS (the Holy Spirit) works much in the same way. When we mess up, He doesn't rant and rave and belittle us (or worse, give up on us completely). He gently reminds us that we erred, and then provides an alternate route to get us back on course. And when we mess up again (because you know we will), He simply repeats the process. Over and over again if necessary.
To further the analogy, you can have the best GPS system on the market in your car, but if you never turn it on, it will do you no good. The Holy Spirit is the same way. We have all the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, but if we never tap into this magnificent resource, we are destined to stumble blindly through life, constantly getting lost.
For those of us of the male persuasion, we act as if we are missing the genetic code that enables us to ask for directions (or use our GPS). In fact, I'm sure the Hebrew children would have made it Canaan much quicker if Moses had just stopped to ask directions instead of wandering aimlessly in the desert for 40 years (just kidding). But we tend to do the same thing with the Holy Spirit (not just us guys, either). We think we can do just fine without getting any input from Him, and then wonder why we're always getting lost on our way to the Promised Land.
The passage from Isaiah above prophesies the day when we would have the Holy Spirit as a constant companion, guiding our steps through this complex life. Notice it doesn't say that He will drag us on the right path. Rather, He takes a back seat and gently whispers directions to us. We can either heed His suggestions or ignore them. Unlike an actual GPS system, however, He will never give us bad information ("Turn left." Um, it's a wall.) If we attune our ears to listen to His voice and follow His directions, we will get where we're going much quicker and on smoother paths. The choice is ours.
I choose to listen, unless ice cream is involved.
Have a blessed week!
Pastor David
