A few weeks ago, my mom and I were looking for a new thrift store. We were having a hard time finding the store, so I decided to enter the address in my iPhone. Finally, we were on our way. The cool thing about my GPS is that it shows you when you go off course and it has a blinking pin right on your destination. So, if you pay close attention, you will successfully get to your destination. Easy enough right? Even with the GPS, we had some trouble finding the store, but we finally got there (We are directionally challenged).
I started to think about my Christian walk. Wouldn’t it be awesome if Jesus gave us the coordinates of our destinations in life? Then I could just enter it into my phone and know exactly where I was going. The blinky pin would be on my destination and it would show me when I was going off course. That would be so cool! But, it doesn’t work that way. If Jesus gave us a GPS then we wouldn’t need faith to trust Him because we would know our life plan exactly, moment by moment. One thing is for sure, if we have a personal relationship with Jesus, we know our final destination—heaven. God doesn’t give us details instructions of where we are going and what bumps in the road we might face, but He does give us His perfect peace and His guidance and direction. We are able to come to Him in prayer and ask for His guidance and will for our life.
If you are anything like me, you are a major planner. I plan out my day, my week, my month, my school year, etc. I plan what I am going to wear, what I am going to eat for breakfast, and what I am going to do after work. Let’s just say I am a control freak. Being a control freak and follow the guidance of someone; how does that work?
I am reminded of something my mom said today. We were walking around a park that we aren’t too familiar with. I had been to the park recently, so I knew my way around the park better than my mom did. I told her, “Follow me, I know where to go.” She didn’t hear me, and she started walking another path. Then I remind her that I knew the way. She said,”I guess I am not very good at following.”
The same is true in my Christian walk. I am not very good at following. Jesus is telling me, “Come on, Sarah, I already have a path for you, just follow me. I know the way.” But, I tell Jesus, “Sure, I will follow you, but first I want to do a few things. I need to take a detour.” But, that is not following Jesus. If I want to be a follower of Christ, I have to give up my plans, and follow Jesus. His plans and timing are far better than mine.
I came to a conclusion today. I am missing the point; I am missing the boat. I say I am a follower of Christ, but I am actually following Him? Am I trusting Him? I have been struggling because I want to make my own plans. I have been going a million miles an hour trying to find a Christian mate. But, today Jesus nudged me and said, “Sarah, I got it under control, just follow me and everything will fall into place.” I decided to stop worrying about finding a mate; if it’s God will, it will happen. Follow Jesus. He is smarter and a better planner than all of us combined!
Your post reminded me of a dream I had a year ago.
A Walk of Faith
I had a dream on August 12, 2011. In this dream I could see myself walking along a rocky path; one that would be easy to trip and fall on if you didn’t watch where you were going. In this dream my eyes were also bandaged so couldn’t see where I was going. The Lord was standing in front of me and He was holding both of my hands. I had to listen to the Lord for each step I took so that I wouldn’t fall. What was cool was that as I was walking forwards, the Lord was waking backwards and yet He never turned around to see where He was going, His attention was set on directing my steps so that I wouldn’t stumble or fall. What I see as the meaning of this dream is that this is the beginning of a faith walk that will rewrite require a hearing ear and an obedient heart.
Here are some things that the Lord is showing me. My eyes in the dream were bandaged which leads me to believe that my eyesight was damaged. We humans judge by sight and not as the Lord judges which is by the heart. When you are blind, you can not judge by what you see but must rely on the one with the sight to tell you what He (Jesus) sees. I said in the dream that I had lost my eyesight in exchange for His. When you are blind, hearing becomes vital to your survival. In the above dream, I was on a very rocky road and had to Listen to the Lord to know where to place my feet. It is a hard thing when your eyes tell you one thing but the Lord’s tell you something completely different . It is about faith in the Lord’s eyes, faith in His judgements as opposed to yours, and faith in His ability to lead and guide and not leaning to your own understanding of things.
Thanks for sharing your dream and story. I sure have a lot to learn, and I am learning to live by faith, not by sight. Thanks for reading and commenting!
It’s not easy but it is the only way if you want to follow God. It is total dependence upon Jesus and not trusting in your own abilities and intellect. Easier said than done, I know first hand. But again, it’s well worth letting Him guide and be the GPS than me guiding and getting lost.
Amen! So true; it is not easy but it is definitely worth it!! Thanks for reading and commenting!
Interesting…. I had a very similar conversation with God recently. I am a planner also. It wasn’t about dating, but I am always trying to figure it out and He reminded me that this is His plan, not mine.
How cool! God is definitely at work in us “planners.” God is constantly reminding to be patient and trust in His promises. Thanks for reading and commenting!