LEARNING DAILY

 

Deuteronomy 5:33, “You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess”. (The emphasis is mine and means eternal life in God’s kingdom!)

 

I remember taking vacations when I was young. Do you remember, Marsha? We would be traveling down the road in a car with no air conditioning and the windows cracked open or down and one of two things was bound to happen. Inevitably, there would be a detour (usually due to road work) or Dad would miss a turn or exit and we would find ourselves where we did not want to be; sometimes, that would mean we were lost. I cannot remember a vacation that did not happen. I have to admit, that characteristic seemed to find its way into my family’s travels as well. And, no, I do not want to talk about it! I would blame my navigator – but she reads the blog.

 

Today, we have things to help us stay on the right route to our destination. My son-in-law got me to put an app on my phone, called Waze, that gives the best route to the destination we want. It is pretty neat as it informs us of difficulties ahead like something in the road or police ahead. It even reroutes us when there is a faster route available! But sometimes I don’t listen because I think I have a better way and the Waze gets angry at me and has to do all sorts of things to try to get me back on the best route. It usually ends up the route Waze wanted me to go was the best way.

 

I know some of you are way ahead of me and know where I am headed with this page of the blog. I also know most of you reading this (and it probably includes all of you) are relating to what I have already written. As Christians, we have a built in “Waze”; it is called the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter, Helper, and Paraklete in John 14. The Holy Spirit is given to every Believer to help and strengthen, to teach them the true course for their life and get them back on course when they take a wrong turn. The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Truth by John because He is the spirit of Jesus. He guides us into all truth. He is trying to keep us on the narrow way that leads to eternal life in God’s kingdom – our destination!

 

The problem for all of us is we sometimes decide our way is better than what the Holy spirit is trying to do in our lives. So we take a wrong turn or take a detour that gets us in trouble, even lost for a time. All the time He is telling us to reroute to get back on the narrow way or there is trouble ahead if you are not listening to Him. He is telling us to not go “there” or don’t do “that”. If we listen, we get through the temptation or the trial without stepping off the narrow way. Now, take note, if you do not listen, you need to ask for forgiveness and allow God’s grace to get you back on the narrow way. This is not a license to get off the narrow way; because we are human, it happens. Get back on the narrow way as quickly as you can. 1 John 1:9 is essential in correcting your difficulty, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from our unrighteousness.”