Directions Home
Isn't it funny that we men, who aren't very likely to stop and ask anyone for directions, will willingly listen to the little woman who lives in our phones tell us where to go? GPS has forever changed how we get our directions. We simply input the address and Siri gives us two or three options of the best routes to get there. And off we go, willingly obeying the computer voice. (Maybe the reason we'll listen to Siri is so that we don't have to stop and ask a human being for directions!)
But don't you feel a little bit bad for the children who will never know the joy of laying out a map and trying to figure out the best route to take for your vacation? Rarely will they know the joy of the unexpected side trip that happened just because you happened to see something interesting on the map. For several years, my grandparents lived in Colorado and our vacation every summer was going out to see them. Every summer, my parents got out the map and planned a different route so we could see new things along the way. Now, GPS would send us the same way every time, and we would have missed so many adventures (not to mention so many Stuckey's!).
The one place we never need GPS for is to get home. No matter how long it's been, we can always find our way home once we turn in that direction. That's true when I head for Sedalia (or, for that matter, for any of the places we have called "home" in our married life) and it's even more true for all of us when we turn toward the One who is our true home.
When the Israelites had been taken away into exile, punishment for the many ways in which they had turned against God, God's promise for them was that, in time, he would bring them home (Zephaniah 3:20). But I think the promise from the prophet was about more than just a physical home. God's ultimate promise was that he would bring them home to himself. If they would turn to him (the constant call of the prophets), he would be there waiting, longing, with open arms. Once they turned toward home, they wouldn't need GPS. He would be there to guide them home.
I've found that to be true, haven't you? There have been times when life's circumstances have worn me down and I have felt far away from my heavenly father. There are times when I think I am too busy or too tired or too something to do the things I know draw me closer to him. And every time, he is there, calling me home, showing me the way. I have found the promise in Isaiah 30:21 to be true: "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.'" I don't need a map or a GPS; God is there waiting and calling and loving me, ready to bring me home.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go ask Siri how to get to my next destination.
But don't you feel a little bit bad for the children who will never know the joy of laying out a map and trying to figure out the best route to take for your vacation? Rarely will they know the joy of the unexpected side trip that happened just because you happened to see something interesting on the map. For several years, my grandparents lived in Colorado and our vacation every summer was going out to see them. Every summer, my parents got out the map and planned a different route so we could see new things along the way. Now, GPS would send us the same way every time, and we would have missed so many adventures (not to mention so many Stuckey's!).
The one place we never need GPS for is to get home. No matter how long it's been, we can always find our way home once we turn in that direction. That's true when I head for Sedalia (or, for that matter, for any of the places we have called "home" in our married life) and it's even more true for all of us when we turn toward the One who is our true home.
When the Israelites had been taken away into exile, punishment for the many ways in which they had turned against God, God's promise for them was that, in time, he would bring them home (Zephaniah 3:20). But I think the promise from the prophet was about more than just a physical home. God's ultimate promise was that he would bring them home to himself. If they would turn to him (the constant call of the prophets), he would be there waiting, longing, with open arms. Once they turned toward home, they wouldn't need GPS. He would be there to guide them home.
I've found that to be true, haven't you? There have been times when life's circumstances have worn me down and I have felt far away from my heavenly father. There are times when I think I am too busy or too tired or too something to do the things I know draw me closer to him. And every time, he is there, calling me home, showing me the way. I have found the promise in Isaiah 30:21 to be true: "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.'" I don't need a map or a GPS; God is there waiting and calling and loving me, ready to bring me home.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go ask Siri how to get to my next destination.
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