Besides my wife and my three beautiful daughters, the next most important woman in my life is Gertrude my GPS, a companion on my travels and an invaluable help when Im lost.
Recently I was travelling down a track in Mozambique, and the road got really rough! Potholes turned to dongas and soft sand turned to mud. The road closed in from both sides and I couldnt see more than a few metres ahead of me. I really started wondering if I could continue on the path Gertrude had chosen for me. I kept wondering if I had misread her, and she kept assuring me that the road would improve just a little further on. On more than one occasion I considered turning back. But then I would remember the value of where I was going and push on. Eventually the track did join up with a main road and in due course I arrived at my destination.
Our loving God promises to guide us through life, if only we decide to follow his prompting. Psalm 48:14 describes to us how God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. If I could put so much trust in a very simple piece of electronic equipment, how much more should I completely trust the creator and sustainer of life? Nowhere does God promise us an easy path, but troubles in this world (John 16:33). Even with God at your side, life is tough! Only if we learn to place our trust in him completely, and endure the rough road that at times he allows us to walk, can we be sure that we will arrive at our ultimate destination. We will finish the race, claim our prize, and spend an eternity looking back and marvelling at the fact that we ever doubted him.
Destination eternity
Another thing that never ceases to amaze me is that I can programme into Gertrude any destination in Southern Africa, and she will take me there. What I find really incredible though, is that once my destination is programmed into her, no matter where I go or how many wrong turns I take along the way, she simply redirects me and plots out a new route, back to my original destination. Gertrude sees the big picture. She knows all the possibilities, all the twists and turns and dead ends. She guides me around obstacles and takes me along the best route. She also knows every time that I take a wrong turn, and patiently leads me back towards my destination.
We need to remember that we are sojourners, and that our citizenship and destination is not of this world. In Philippians 3:14 we read I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. King David claims that God has made known to him the path of life. (Psalm 16:11) In John 3:16 we see Gods love for the world and His plan of salvation for you and I and everyone else who has ever lived. He sent his Son to die for us so that if we believe in him, we will inherit eternal life. That is Gods desire for us. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. (Ephesians 1:4-5 emphasis mine). This is the eternal destination that he has programmed into us. We are the adopted children of God and he is just waiting to welcome into his home, those who choose to accept his offer.
Another thing my male pride appreciates about Gertrude, is that she will never force me to take the path she has chosen for me. She will guide me by recommending a route, but will never force me to do it her way. My free will remains intact. I can choose to ignore her if i like, just as I can God. I can even turn her off. I have done that on occasion and have regretted it every time, when I have had to backtrack or take a much more difficult path than that which she had originally plotted out for me.
However she still knows exactly where I am at all times, and never gives up on me. As soon as Im willing to start listening again, she continues to patiently guide me. When the Israelites left Egypt, their destination was the Promised Land. The distance was only about 400kms, or a months journey on foot. Instead of trusting God implicitly, the Israelites tested him at every turn. Although he became annoyed by their doubting and disobedience God continued to walk alongside and guide them, even though they wandered through the wilderness for 40 years!
He actively searches Not unlike the Israelites, we sometimes fail to heed Gods advice and do not take the route recommended by him. Instead we try to find our own way through life and face unnecessary hardship and pain. Satan would love us to believe that when we do turn aside and take a path that God hasnt planned for us, that he turns from us and leaves us to muddle through life on our own. Through the parables of the lost sheep and coin and then that of the prodigal son Christ gives us an insight into Gods unfailing love and commitment towards us. He actively searches for us when we go astray, and all of heaven rejoices when we turn back to him. (Luke 15). Neither God nor Gertrude ever get to the point where you cant get there from here After doing things his own way at times, King David eventually came to the following conclusion:
Im an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what Im thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back; Im never out of your sight. You know everything Im going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and youre there, then up ahead and youre there, too– your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful– I cant take it all in! Is there any place I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, youre there! If I go underground, youre there! If I flew on mornings wings to the far western horizon,Youd find me in a minute– youre already there waiting! (Psalm 139:2-10 Msg.)
Love isnt just one of Gods characteristics, love is Gods default. He has proved by dying on a cross that he will do whatever it takes to save us. Nothing that we do, no path that we follow can ever change that love. He is the Father, standing at the gate, scanning the horizon, looking for his lost sons and daughters, hoping with all his heart that we will return to his waiting outstretched arms. As with Gertrude, he never tires of, nor gives up on us. He never forces his will onto us, and no matter where we have been or how dirty we are from taking roads we shouldnt have, it remains his desire that we turn to him and live up to our potential of being his sons and daughters . Its never too late to let him take you by the hand and lead you into the family mansion.