My Spriritual Navi

You cannot live, or survive for that matter, in Europe without a "Navi" (that's a GPS in American lingo). It is an essential asset for anyone who drives and without one you will not find your way around! As helpful as my Navi is, after 6 months of using it, I have developed a love/hate relationship with it.

It doesn't matter how exact the navigation system is, I still manage to mess up the directions -- I underestimate how far 200 meters is until I have to turn and then turn on the wrong street; I take the wrong exit when the exit forks in two directions; or I go the wrong way on the highway. It is so FRUSTRATING!! Granted, I've never gotten completely lost while following my Navi since it automatically recalculates for me, but I still get upset that I can't follow simple directions and ultimately waste time trying to reach my destination. I mean it provides both audible and written instructions -- how hard can it be??? As much as I love the help that my Navi offers, I can't help my hostile feelings towards it either.

But ranting and raving about my Navi is not the main reason for this post. I couldn't help but think about all of this in a spiritual sense.

Driving down the autobahn, I heard an advertisement on the radio, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could have a GPS to steer us through life?" I thought to myself, for those of us who are believers, we do have one -- the Bible. It is all we need for direction in life. But what if you are like me and have trouble following the GPS to reach your final destination? Are we hopeless?

Like driving with my navi, the Bible is my main guide. It has clear instructions, both written and audible (through the Holy Spirit), that I need to follow. But if I don't understand it, can't interpret it, or don't apply it, then I will continue to go around in circles trying to reach my goal of Christlikeness. When I get confused down the path I'm going I can't blame the manual, it's an operator malfunction! And the only way to overcome that malfunction is to pay close attention to the instructions, know exactly what it says, and then follow it precisely. Doing these things with my Bible, and my Navi, will get me where I want to go without any problems!

I'm always amazed at how God will use mundane things to get my attention (maybe because my brain can't move beyond that), and I'm thankful that He does. Since I have to use my Navi most everywhere I go, then I constantly have a reminder of learning from God's Word and trying to navigate it properly.

Yes, there are still days when I mess up on the physical road and the spiritual one, but on those days I just need to remember that life's a journey and to sit back and enjoy the drive.