Your Destination Is Just Ahead

Recalculating. Return to the route. Make a legal u-turn. Promptings by the gps can cause blood pressure spikes, especially in heavy traffic or in unfamiliar territory. I really dislike being so dependent on technology for direction. I’ve pulled onto the highway to the right or left only to have the map spin like a compass needle as I watch my little blue dot veer farther off course. When someone develops an app that can ascertain the direction my vehicle is facing before I pull out, I will be a happy navigator!

I much prefer to know the way to my destination in advance, but there’s always a first trip. When I know where I’m headed and how to get there, I can relax and better enjoy the scenery along the way. I can talk with my mom on the phone. I can daydream or meal plan or enjoy my own personal praise and worship session. My brain engages autopilot and the trip seems to go by much more quickly.

Since my daughter and her husband moved to the next state with my first grandchild, I’ve memorized the route between my house and theirs. My mind stays two steps ahead as I travel the now familiar roads. I’ve only gotten distracted a time or two and missed my turn. The scenery is fairly distracting rounding the winding mountain roads, especially as the leaves are changing. In spite of the frequently visible cell towers, the signal is sketchy to nonexistent at times. I’m thankful not to rely entirely on my tech anymore.

Neither do I rely on outside direction or interpretation as I go my way each day. I rely on God’s indwelling Spirit. Like an internal gps, the Holy Spirit prompts, directs, halts and moves me in the way He would have me take one step at a time.

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

Psalms 119:105 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.119.105.NLT

The word of God, the Bible, is my map and His Spirit is my compass and guide. In the same way that I picture my destination while traveling to my daughter’s home, I see my eternal home in the distance and I point my feet always toward what I can see.

My daughter’s neighborhood is situated in a valley surrounded by the foothills of mountains. No matter which direction I take from her subdivision, I round a bend and see cloud-crowned hillsides in the distance. Established roadways don’t allow me to make my way straight toward a particular feature of peak. The road winds and I often lose sight of the mountains. One way begins to look like another in this unfamiliar territory and I need to ask for help to reorient myself.

I have the ear of almighty God when I ask for direction believing in Jesus name. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

James 1:5 NIV

https://james.bible/james-1-5

The only thing better than knowing my way and proceeding on autopilot is to have a chauffeur. If my husband is driving me to visit my daughter’s family, I can take in the scenery, take a nap, or any number of other things while remaining confident of arriving safely at my destination.

Peter, disciple of Christ, saw Jesus transfigured just before his crucifixion. He wrote about this experience, describing his assurance of eternity in what he personally witnessed and in the words of the prophets.

“For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.

Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.”

2 Peter 1:16-21 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/2pe.1.16-21.NLT

As leaves follow the current of a mountain stream, so the apostles and prophets were carried along by God’s Spirit. The canon is complete but the Spirit of God still moves, speaks, and works the will of God in the hearts and minds of believers. Until Jesus comes again or He calls me home to be with the Lord forever, I will continue to trust God to carry me.

Jesus said,“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me.

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

John 14:1-3 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.14.1-3.NIV

So I say with the apostle Paul, “The Lord …will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

2 Timothy 4:18 NIV

https://2timothy.bible/2-timothy-4-18