Stay on Track with God’s GPS
Numbers 9:1-11a, 15-19
In school, I was very good in math. The truth is, I was very good at getting the right answer, but not very good in following the procedures my teachers and the textbook wanted me to follow. I couldn’t see their point. After all, I was right, wasn’t I?
I would have had a hard time in the desert at Sinai. God gave specific instructions to Moses as to when and how the Passover meal was to be observed. If blood sprinkled on the doorpost was what God wanted, I would have sprinkled the entire door. If a little blood is good, a lot of blood is better.
As for waiting for that cloud to lift so that the company of Israelites could move forward, again I would have been in deep trouble. I can hear myself now, “Moses, what are we waiting for? There is nothing out there but desert and more desert. Sound the trumpets, Moses. Let’s go.”
When I was a boy, my dad often told me, “I can’t tell you about what we are planning to do in the future because you will drive me crazy wanting to do it now or asking a million questions.”
I still ask a million questions, and it has taken me years to learn patience, to learn to wait, and to seek God’s guidance in all things. Slowly I have discovered that there is much to learn in silence, in being still. I know now why those math teachers wanted me to learn to follow directions, to master a specific methodology, to have a plan. When the real problems come that seem insurmountable, you want to have a plan to guide you through. Experience and wonderful Christian mentors have taught me that God has a plan for my life and for yours. I need to be guided by his set of instruction. His instructions are found in his Word. I can discover the way through my personal deserts through study, prayer and meditation.
Just as we never leave home without our car’s GPS (Global Positioning System), I know that I should also consult God’s Global Positioning System – his Word. God never fails me, no matter where I am. There is never a poor connection, weak signal or low battery.
When we were hopelessly lost in the remote areas of the mountains of West Virginia with no road signs to guide us, that is when our car’s GPS failed us. The little message read, “Searching for satellite.” It did not resume until we were back in familiar territory. My true guidance system did not fail. When I needed help, the master controller already knew my needs.
Carnell– Lessons in the ETB series for the winter quarter are being written by Mitch Carnell, member of First Baptist Church, Charleston.