I am so directionally challenged.
This past weekend we took an impromptu trip to New York City for the day, our first time visiting since PCSing to the East Coast. Our teens surprisingly both had the day off of work, and the sun was promsing to peek through the clouds after days of rain. A day like this wasn’t about to come again soon. I felt a little nervous about getting there, but we decided to just go.
We made it to the city and to our reserved parking garage just fine. We only needed to circle the block once, having missed the entrance the first go around. For reasons beyond my understanding, I am usually in charge of deciding how to get from here to there. Even with the wonders of a wild variety of maps and apps, I still struggle.
Our mission: to see the Christmas tree in the Rockefeller Plaza. And then wing it from there.
At one point, it was obvious we had walked a block too far in the wrong direction. The unhelpful arrow on my phone telling me where to go was spinning around like a compass during a supernatural situation. “Um, I think I need help.” I handed my phone to my patient husband. With a few taps on the screen, he handed my phone back to me and suddenly I was in “See Exactly Where You Need to Walk” mode.
“I keep buying you new technology that you refuse to use,” he teased.
Isn’t that kind of like how we are with God sometimes?
He’s provided this amazing guidance system with an open invitation to seek Him: His Spirit in us; His word made available to us. “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105). And sometimes I forget—or refuse—to use it. Sometimes He’s not easy to understand.
God’s word doesn’t have every answer for every question we have.
Should we buy, rent, or living in military housing? Which school district is best for the kids? Which duty station would be best for our family and for his career? Should we extend here or take the opportunity to PCS early? Do we move back home while he deploys?
Sometimes we have to stop and say, “I need a little help here.”
The word of God may not give us the exact direction to take in the myriad of big decsions we are continually faced with, but we see His wonderful direction in promises such as, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [what you will eat, drink, or wear] will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). There is such peace in trusting His provision.
God is so good to meet us where we are with His word when we are needing direction. And He is so good about placing people in our lives who can help as well.
Is there a verse that has helped you when you are needing direction? Or a friend who has shined a light on your next right step when you are feeling lost?