3.27.18 Praise Prompt: New Directions & Unexpected Detours

PRAISE PROMPT ••• Being late makes me very tense, so I make an effort to always be early or on time.
Yesterday, I was 25 minutes late for a meeting.
Between a major sneezing attack as I was trying to get ready, transferring everything from my car to my husband’s van (the tire issue mentioned yesterday), and traffic, I arrived at my meeting stressed out.
This was an offsite meeting, and I had a vague idea of how to get there, but definitely felt more secure with my GPS.
As I was sitting on the I-40 parking lot, inching my way forward, my GPS suddenly told me to take the next exit.
I decided to listen to it, though it didn’t make a lot of sense to me.
The GPS took me in this big wide half-circle before bringing me back to I-40, where the traffic was still heavy, but at least it was moving.
I’m not sure if the GPS would have taken me that route anyway, or if the technology was smart enough to route me away from an even bigger delay.
Either way, even though I followed the GPS instructions, I kept wondering, ”does this thing know what it’s doing?”
Though it finally put me back on the expected path, I couldn’t help but think how similar our reactions are to God when unexpected detours come up in our lives.
In 1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”
God’s hand is moving in our lives, and sometimes, He pushes us in an unexpected direction.
While we may wonder, “where on earth is He taking me,” as Christians, we are called to obey.
Our curious confusion isn’t a sin, as long as we’re committed to trusting Him as He leads.
As it says in Proverbs 16:9, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”
Today, let’s praise God for always having the perfect map.
We may not always be able to read it, but He can, and He is a brilliant navigator.
Let’s recommit to trusting in His direction, even when we don’t know where we are going, or even when our timetables don’t match His.