Having returned from three days in downtown Chicago, I am a believer. In fact, I mean that quite literally. I have been to Chicago about three times, and, while I don't find it overly intimidating, I usually feel compelled to take time in advance to study city maps and become somewhat comfortable with street layouts and landmark locations.
I needn't stress the big city any more. In fact, I packed everything for the trip, forgetting my Chicago city map, and never worried. Not with "Deb" on board.
"Deb" is the name we have given to our on board GPS system because it uses a soothing woman's voice to provide directions. Deb has been nearly perfect in her guidance. We have come to the point where we trust her implicitly. She has proved Internet mapping services to be flawed. We simply punch in the street address and let Deb lead us onward.
After Deb had brilliantly navigated us from the bowels of Chicago to the open lanes of central Illinois, I reflected on the "faith" I have increasingly placed in her. And I wondered why my trust in God's guidance is not as pure.
The payoff for heeding Deb's instructions is immediate. When Deb tells me I have reached my destination, I know instantly whether she is right or not. In fact, during the journey there are opportunities to see if Deb is on target. If she says "Turn left" and there is no street to the left, Deb stands condemned. For the record, excepting for areas under construction, Deb has mislead me only once.
In trusting God for guidance, I must turn and proceed in faith many times, not knowing where His voice is leading me. The trustworthiness of God's guidance on some of the journeys is validated along the way, perhaps at the end. But sometimes, even when the journey is "done," questions may linger.
Am I there yet?
Where am I?
Is this a rest stop, or the final destination?
What now?
This is the fear and the joy of traveling in the realm of the Spirit. All the analogies of life's road maps and sign posts fade in meaning. There are not always clear markers or even distinct journeys, thus creating times of intense confusion and anxiety, and, at other times, an appreciation of the freedom we have to explore and know that God has our back.
As we navigated the streets of Chicago, it was a blessed assurance to hear Deb's clear voice. She speaks and we listen, unless we are up for an adventure in the land of the lost. When we try to stray from Deb's determined path, she lets us know and commands us to "Make a legal U-turn" and get back on track. We can decrease the volume of her commands, but that would be foolish.
God's voice is not so clear. Many times God may have no specific route for us to travel. While God's grand purposes are unified and unchanging, our individual journeys toward fulfillment are varied. Some offer similar terrain. Some are completely unique. Many are the roads which offer opportunities for declaring the glory of God.
Because there is ONE God and ONE Lord, Jesus Christ, we assume there is but ONE way to honor God along the journey that is our life.
If I miss that ONE job, that ONE relationship, or mishandle that ONE decision, I am spiritually AWOL, forever doomed to wander in the badlands of disobedience!
But God is not so limiting. On the one hand, disobedience is a narrow way. When God is specific about what we are to do, or what we are not to do, obedience cannot be partial. That is sin. I cannot respond to God's prohibition to lust by lusting in different ways and be congratulated for my ingenuity and my creative disobedience. And I cannot respond to God's command to love my wife by loving every one else and everything else, while neglecting the woman to whom I have pledged my life. I must lust after no one and no thing. And I must love my wife specifically.
Obedience, in contrast to disobedience, is often a broad path, with many options for honoring the Father. In loving my wife, I can love her by sacrificial acts of service. I can love her by faithfully praying for her. I can love her by exhibiting a gracious spirit in her presence. I can love her by showering her with presents. I can love her by challenging her to spiritual maturity. The options are nearly limitless.
Deb has a specific route for my journey. She does exhibit grace when I begin to make an "unapproved" turn. She will re-compute the route, and continue her directions. But she alters her chosen path only when I force her to do so.
God's journey, while committed to the destination, sees the value in a variety of side trips and a good bit of meandering. In fact, the meandering develops the traveler. God is in control of the destination. It will be the same for all of us who faithfully head in His direction. The journey, however, is varied for each one because while we travel, God builds us.
Unlike Deb, the voice of God is not always so clear. Our ears may not be tuned to the frequency of His voice. The times when He does speak more directly to steer us from danger or toward a golden opportunity, we may be distracted by the shouts of the world or the tunes of our selfishness. The key to a journey which arrives where God desires, and traverses in a God-glorifying way is to listen. He may not speak at every turn, but when the moment is crucial, we do well to give Him our ear.
I wish you well on the journey. I wish you ears to hear. I wish you wisdom and adventure along the way. I look forward to seeing you when we get there.
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