After hearing Ryan’s message on Sunday, I was reminded of the importance of orienting yourself towards God. In order to go in the right direction you need to be facing the right way.
One of the things that I’ve been learning to do is to Seek the Guide of my life rather than the Map of it.
What I mean by that is, rather than trying to see where I need to go and trying to figure out how to get there on my own, I try to turn to the one who knows me and has made a way for me to help guide me on my journey of life.
So often as Christians we want to know what’s next and ask God to reveal to us the plans that He has for us in our lives. This is not a bad thing but when we are more interested in the destination rather than the journey we might miss out on what God has for us. We often forget that having a guide is more important than having a map in our lives.
If I had a map that showed where I was and where I needed to go, I would simply try and figure out the best and most likely, the fastest route to get there.
The map may offer you a visibly good route and with technology, we often have the ability to adjust the route if we make the wrong turn using our GPS.
Maps are useful tools to navigate the world but a guide knows things that a map won’t tell you.
The world that we live in teaches you that you don’t need a guide. All you need is a Map of your life and you’re ready to go. All you need is a 2 year plan, a 5 year plan, a 10 year plan.
But ask anyone who followed their “map” for life if everything went smoothly and according to plan. Ask them if the “map” of their life was enough to know how to deal with the ups and downs on their path to the next destination.
Perhaps a map of your life is not the only thing you need to live your life.
Now some of you might be thinking, what’s the difference between a map and a guide?
The map is interested in the destination, the guide is interested in the journey.
When I took a tour of Hobbiton in New Zealand, we were given a map of the tour to show us where we were going but it was the guide that made the whole experience worthwhile.
If we just followed the map on our own, we would not have stopped at certain places on the map to understand its significance and learn to appreciate the journey. The guide also offered stories and knowledge about the places on the map that are not necessarily known to the general public, which made for a richer experience.
God has given us a guide named the Holy Spirit to help us navigate our Christian Journey.
John 14:26 (NIV) says “26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
John 16:13 (NIV) says “13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
The Holy Spirit guides us from place to place. He knows when to go, where to go and how to get there. He helps us learn to appreciate every moment of the journey so that we can understand and know who God is and how much He loves us. He offers us wisdom and knowledge that the world cannot give. The Holy Spirit enriches our lives so that we can have life and have it to the full.
Seeking the Guide of our lives rather than the Map of it, is simply better for our lives.
Father, I pray that you will orient our eyes and ears towards the Holy Spirit so that we may be guided on the journey of life. Help us to Seek the Guide of our lives rather than the Map of it. Father, you know what we need, where to go and how to get there. Guide us and lead us into your ways. In Jesus name, we pray Amen!