Map: How is Your Spiritual GPS?

Hey everyone, I have a little news . . . I’m working on building a website. In a few weeks my blog will be moving over there. I’m so excited for you to visit my new little home! I’ll keep you filled in as the project wraps up. My blog will still be filled with encouraging posts, uplifting truths, and pretty pictures, it’ll just have a new home. 🙂

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By Lisa Jordan

I turned on the Maps feature on my phone and looked at the GPS. The robotic voice commanded me to go southwest then turn right. Okay, but I wasn’t sure if southwest was right or left. 

My mom thought we needed to turn right, so we did. 

And my GPS rerouted us around the block—or so I thought—to get back onto the road we needed to head out of the busy city.

However, instead of connecting us back to the route I was familiar with, the GPS guided us a different way. And honestly, that way had less traffic, less congestion, and less roadwork. 

The residential area offered landscaped homes, well-kept schools, and parks where children played with their parents and dogs. 

Even though I’d been to the city hundreds of times, I was seeing this area for the first time. After an exhausting day, the views were soothing, and I was able to relax.

Finally, the GPS directed me back onto the main road I needed to take me home. 

At first, there was a little concern about getting lost, especially in an unfamiliar part of the city, but I had faith in my Maps app to pilot me where I needed to go. 

If I had taken that left and gone home the way I’d come, I would have missed out on touring through that calming neighborhood. 

I think that’s how we can be with God. The Bible tells us we can order our steps, but He will direct our paths. Faith is believing without seeing.

How many times, though, do we struggle to keep moving forward in faith without knowing where God is leading us?

We can make goals, create plans, and write out to-do lists and then be so focused on achieving them that we are taken down alternate routes of annoyances.  We miss out on blessings God is sharing with us—interrupted writing time to chat with a friend. Helping a family member. 

We can view those interruptions as annoyances, but God is in control of our time, our plans, our steps.

No matter what we’re doing, God wants to stay connected with us. Sure, he may reroute us down different roads, some filled with potholes that may last through seasons instead of minutes, but no matter what, He’s with us every step of the way. And even better—He knows the best way, so following him will take us to the greatest destination of all.

I know how difficult it is to follow God when the path seems hazy, potholed, or even too dark to see where the next step may be. We may make mistakes from time to time that lead us down the wrong road, but when we get back in alignment with God’s will for our lives, then He will reconnect us with the best route to take for the path He’s mapped out for us. 

Just like you would do on a long road trip, keep checking the map to be sure you’re headed in the right direction. If you lose sight of the plan, you might find yourself on an unfamiliar street. But, pick it right back up again, and you’ll get back on track! God isn’t concerned about whether or not you achieve perfect progress in a goal; He wants your heart. 

And step by step, prayer by prayer, moment by moment as you seek Him, you will remain on the right path. Connection with God will keep you in check with Him.

Prayer: Lord, I’m afraid to set out on a path that’s not yours. Please give me a spirit not of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). Thank you for the map—Your Word—and for the ability to pray directly to You! Please help me to stay focused on You as my goal instead of the approval of others, accolades, or the pleasure of checking things off a list. I want to work hard for You for the right reasons. Thank you for guiding me and keeping me on Your path! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What about you? When has God led you on an unexpected path and what happened? What helps you trust God when He places you in unfamiliar places?

Click to Tweet: How many times, though, do we struggle to keep moving forward in faith without knowing where God is leading us?

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Bio: Heart, home, and faith have always been important to Lisa Jordan, so writing stories with those elements come naturally. Represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Management, Lisa is an award-winning author for Love Inspired, writing contemporary Christian romances that promise hope and happily ever after. Her latest book, Season of Hope, released in March 2019. She is the operations manager for Novel.Academy, powered by My Book Therapy. Happily married to her own real-life hero for over thirty years, Lisa and her husband have two grown sons. When she isn’t writing, Lisa enjoys family time, kayaking, good books, and being creative with words, fibers, and photos. Visit her at lisajordanbooks.com