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Psalm 143:8 – Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. (NLT)
Stopping for directions sometimes took a great deal of courage.
In the days before GPS systems, smartphones, Google maps, Alexa, and Siri, finding an unfamiliar location could be challenging. Filling stations offered maps to travellers. Each state map had an inset of the largest cities and showed most of the street names in the downtown areas.
If people sought country roads, however, they were out of luck. No 911 system of address numbering existed. Country residents were assigned a rural route and box number — which typically weren't displayed anywhere. Pity the mail person who had to remember who lived where. But at least people knew who their neighbours were.
Before the technology boom, asking for directions was common — at least for women. I often sent my wife into a store or filling station for directions — but rarely did I go, nor were other men likely to stop. Pride was my issue — and probably theirs. To enter a store and ask for directions was unmanly. I've been guilty of riding around for thirty minutes — wasting precious fuel in the process — rather than admitting that I didn't know how to get where I needed to go.
Although the psalmist had no wheels, he wasn't afraid to admit that he needed God's direction. He often got lost on his journeys and knew that only God could point him in the right direction. His motto was, "Trust the Lord with all your heart and let Him guide your path."
Pride will cause us many missteps, and not getting directions from God is one of them. If I think that I have it all figured out, I don't need to consult God to see if I really do. But chances are that I don't, and I will find myself driving around in circles, making the same wrong turns.
Fear of what others think will also keep me driving when I should stop for directions. What will the convenience store clerks and owners think if I, a man, stop for directions? Really, who cares what they think? Similarly, some will always think that I'm foolish to follow God's will and pray about every detail of my life.
Rather than being foolish, stopping for directions is the smartest thing to do. It saves time and fuel. It also saves us from sinful detours and foolish decisions. Let each of us make sure that we get our directions from God regularly.
Prayer: Father, give me courage to consult You on every life journey. Amen.
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Thank-you very much.
Thanks Martin, blessings to you and your family.
At the end of the year praise God for His guidance and have Hope for guidance in 2025.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging and slightly humorous devotional with us today. Blessings.
Well Done Martin !
There is too much pride in the works, oh so true.
Many thanks.
Hi Martin, I loved this, it really resonates with me at the moment. (and men still hate asking for directions!)
Thanks.
Thanks for the devotional.
Asking for directions most of the times.
I have to ask. Where am I?
So
Thank you and God’s blessing.
Good morning, Martin.
You must be related to my husband!
He did not like to ask directions either.
God is good, He directs our path.
God bless.
Good morning, Martin,
I very much enjoyed the memories that your devotional brought to me. It is so true that if we ask God for guidance regularly, life runs a little smoother for us. It is wonderful that we don’t have to work it out all by ourselves. Thanks for sharing and being so honest as you always are. Blessings.
Hello Martin,
Your devotional brought back memories of our early road trip days. After stopping for gas, my husband would send me inside the gas station to get directions. After receiving my instructions from the attendant, I would walk back to the car and turn it over to God. Praying silently that God would guide us safely to our final destination. Thanks for the memories.
Thanks, Martin, for another of your very “directional” devotionals. You are so right in saying how important it is that we seek God and follow His word to keep us in the right direction. It is so easy for us to just do “our own thing” before taking time to pray and consider what the results might be. We sure can be led astray by jumping into our own way of doing things and life is much better when we follow our Saviour’s guidance.
Blessings for these positive writings you deliver.
Today’s devotional was great, Martin! Thank you…it did remind me of a driving trip my husband and I took through France. Our travel agent did an extraordinary job of giving us directions. On our way back to Paris, however, to meet up with friends at one of the railroad stations in Paris, we missed a turn…in other words got lost. May I tell you that the average person in rural France does not speak English? (Nor do we in rural Texas speak much of anything but Spanish and English). At any rate we finally found a town and were able to get directions to the police station (and you know who got out and asked how to find the police station?….you nailed it!).
We made it safely to Paris where we met our friends. Thanks again for this devotional which was worthy but also brought a happy memory to mind.
Trusted truth Bro! Blessings.