Spiritual mapquest.
I've had many friends tell me how they used one form of Internet based directions or another and instead of arriving at their destination with zero-to-no stress, they ended up getting to their place by way of Tokyo.
I think many of us like to use some form of spiritual "mapquest" in the hope of arriving to our desired destination. We don't want to be prompted by the Holy Spirit and make these "unnecessary" u-turns or stops along the way.
A good friend in Immokalee, Florida, mentioned how we need to get lost in and with Jesus. So often we want to set the directions and request the path of least traffic and discomfort. How different is that to the committed Christian life, eh? In the truest sense of submission to the sovereignty and Lordship of Jesus, we relinquish all control, expectations, demands or sense of direction. We just go. We "follow" Him.
Jesus knows the direction - we don't. Then why do we seem to always want Him to take the passenger side and we do all the driving? I'm reminded of the famous Depeche Mode song, "Never Let Me Down Again", where the lyrics are just about right. But there's that unfortunate line in the song- I hope he never lets me down again. . . Is that how we feel? That Jesus has let us down before so turning over the driving to Him is difficult for us? We need the Holy Spirit to search our hearts. Do we need to ask for forgiveness from the Lord for something we haven't let go of yet? Are we holding any anger, resentment, fear or doubt toward God? Is it possible that we've let Him down before? Over and over again?
Do you know anyone who tends to lower the volume on their radio when they're looking for an address? It's not a perfect example as it's not a universal reaction to being lost, but I'd say this for it, though . . .
How many of us turn the volume of the Spirit's voice down (or turn it off altogether) when we're lost or looking for directions? We count on ourselves and rely on our abilities to find the way. We try to "remember" the path or the route we took. We look to our past as a measure of the present and as a means to discern the future. Only Jesus takes us and sets us on a course where the past is no longer the true north of our lives - we now set our eyes on Him.
I'd encourage each of you to give into Jesus. Turn over the keys to Him, roll the window down, lift up your arms into the wind and the let the Spirit run through your hair & your heart . . .
