Rerouting…

My friends are…different. Each one is unique and has her own quirks, which makes our times together fun and unpredictable. Last week, I went to a conference with one of my friends. I’ll use her nickname, Nedge. Although I’ve known Nedge for over 20 years, I learned something about her last week that I hadn’t known before. She is a GPS rebel. Her GPS says, “turn right,” and she says, “make me.” Nedge did the driving on this trip. I won’t make that mistake again.

When Nedge offered to drive, I figured that made sense, since she is more familiar with where we were going than I am. I thought I’d sit back and enjoy the lovely countryside. But it didn’t take long to realize, Nedge has an interesting relationship with her GPS. Like any normal person, she entered our destination into her phone’s GPS and took off, but from that point on, normal was out the window. She treated the GPS as if it was on a mission to destroy us.

The GPS would say, in its unpretentious voice, “In 1,000 feet, turn right.” Nedge would respond, “Why would I do that? I don’t want to go that way,” or “why is it taking us that way?”

“Well, it says there is heavy traffic, so I think it’s trying to take us around it.”

“There’s always traffic on this road. It will be fine.” Meanwhile, the GPS continued to encourage her to turn right…at every intersection…all the way through town. Rerouting. Rerouting. Rerouting.

“Nedge, if you know where you’re going and are ignoring the GPS, why don’t you just turn it off?”

“I like to know how long it will take to get where we’re going.”

“But if you don’t go the way it’s taking you, the time it will take to get there is irrelevant.”

“Haha. True, but I like to have it on so I can see where we’re going.”

“OK. “Why are you turning left?”

“I think this is the way to the conference.”

“The GPS thinks it’s the other way.” Rerouting.

“It does? Oh. I would have sworn it’s this way.” We turned around. Nedge is really good at turning around. Rerouting.

The GPS announced, “In half a mile, turn left.” Nedge immediately started her left turn.

“Not here!”

“It says to turn left.”

“In a half a mile. Look at the map. You’re the little blue arrow.”

“I don’t use the map. I just look at the top where it tells me which way to turn.”

“But if you look at the map portion, you can see exactly which road it wants you to turn onto.”

“Oh. I don’t do that.”

Then I knew my role as co-pilot. It was to say, “not here” at every road we passed after the turning arrow appeared until we reached the right one.

 I shook my head each time the GPS rerouted or Nedge turned around. But aren’t we, as Christians, just like that? We have an inerrant instruction book, the Bible, to show us our way through life, yet we ignore it. Peter said God has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), yet we take off with our lives, and leave God’s Word on the shelf. Or worse, we know what it says, and we choose to take a different path. Do we realize that in His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11)? If so, why do we turn the other way?

If you have been going your own way, ignoring the path God has for you, what are you waiting for? Open your Bible. Discover the way He wants you to go. Reroute!

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12 ESV)

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:110 ESV)