Show Me Your Ways, Lord.

I recently visited the bridge of a ship and listened to the captain explaining the intricacies of navigation. Ultimately, however, the safe passage of the ship did not only depend on the navigators who plotted the course of the ship through the seas, but also on the crew who were responsible for acting on the information supplied by the navigators. Obedience to the instructions was the absolute key to the safety of the vessel and to reaching the ship’s expected destination.

In our Scripture for today we are encouraged to come to the Lord for his navigational instructions – we want to know what path He has set out before us for the next season of our lives. Without His guidance we will always finish up a long way away from His best plan for the direction of our lives.

But, and this is a big BUT, we may know exactly what the Lord would have us do, but if we choose not to follow His navigational instructions, then we will soon be in trouble and make a shipwreck of our lives. After making an amazing cross-Atlantic voyage in his ship Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus and his key crew members were exhausted and in need of sleep. They left the ship in charge of a young boy, but he did not follow his instructions and, as a result, the ship foundered on a sandbank and was lost!

We cannot afford to allow anyone other than the Lord to be the navigator who shows us the direction we need to go. And we cannot allow anyone else to take control of our lives and take us to places God never intended for us. Learning to always trust Him and to always be obedient to His directions is the ultimate key to having the blessing of God on each and every area of our lives.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, that you rejoice to be the navigator of our lives. Help me, Lord, to not only listen to Your voice but to obey Your instructions. In Jesus’ name. Amen.