GPS… be my guide!
I’ll never forget, many years ago, the day I got one of the first Garmin GPS navigation devices.
Some of you will have no idea what I’m talking about. But, before the iPhone we didn’t have different navigation apps to choose from. In fact, some of you will remember the days of having that huge atlas of road maps under your front seat. Some of you will remember the days of printing off turn by turn directions with MapQuest onto paper. Some of you will remember going by the Triple A office in town to pick up your trip maps for that long road trip you had planned.
So when I opened up that box with a Garmin GPS, I was beyond excited. Mostly because, as I’ve shared before, I’m not good with directions. What’s worse, I hate getting lost. But now my life would be forever changed thanks to this GPS device that would now be my guide!
Turn by Turn Directions for Life
When it comes to turn by turn directions to get us from point A to point B on a road trip, a GPS navigation device or app can be a great guide.
But when it comes to turn by turn directions to get us from point A to point B in life, who or what is your guide?
What’s interesting is that we live in a world full of would be guides.
Need someone to help you with your finances, retirement planning, saving for the kids college, and all of that? What you need is a financial planner.
Need someone to help you get in shape, eat healthier, give you a customized exercise plan? What you need is a personal trainer.
Need someone to help you navigate the new leadership role you’re in as you make decisions for your company, try to manage all the personalities in leadership roles around you, and help you have success in your job? What you need is an executive coach.
We live in a world full of guides, coaches, trainers, teachers, experts, consultants, and planners.
But, let me ask you this…
What’s the primary guiding force of your life?
A Better Guide
In Galatians 5.16-17, Paul suggests that there is a better guide for us to follow. We can continue to follow our own way, our own path, our own instincts, our own desires… but that only leads us down one road. And there is a better way, a better guide, if we would turn to the One God has given us to follow. Paul writes,
“So I say let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. THEN you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires.”
Before the Spirit was given, the people of God followed the law. But the law was insufficient. What the law couldn’t do, the reason the law was insufficient, is that it could point out what was wrong, but it couldn’t protect you from what was wrong. It could spell out what sin was, but it couldn’t keep you from that sin. It could guide you into the knowledge of what was right and wrong, but it couldn’t guide you into living an abundant life, the good life.
But the HOLY SPIRIT CAN!
The HOLY SPIRIT wants to be the One who lives inside you, guides you in every aspect of your life, and shows you which way to go.
So what would your life look like if the Holy Spirit were to guide every part of your life?
Waze
These days I don’t use that old Garmin GPS anymore. Now I typically use the Waze app on my iPhone.
For the most part, Waze gets me to where I’m going. I use Waze almost every day. Even if I know where I’m going, I might use Waze just to find the best way to avoid traffic or to avoid a wreck that I might not know about.
The beauty of an app like Waze is that it knows things I don’t know about what’s on the road ahead. It knows the best way to get from where I am to where I want to be.
The problem is, I’m not always great at following directions.
Sometimes, I’m distracted and I don’t get off at the right exit or to make the right turn.
Sometimes, I don’t listen and I wind up going the wrong direction.
Sometimes, I think I know better and I go the way I want to go even thought I know Waze is telling me to go in a different direction.
What about you?
My guess is that if your life isn’t headed in the right direction, it may be because you’re distracted, you’re not listening, or you think you know better than the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit wants to guide your life. It doesn’t want to be A guide in your life. It wants to be THE Guide of your life.
Paul says,
“But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” – Galatians 6.8
The Holy Spirit wants to lead you into everlasting life. Life without end. But it’s more than that… It’s the absolute fullness of life. The best life in the sense that it’s a life filled by, empowered by, animated by, lived by the Holy Spirit of God. It’s Christ in you.
He wants to guide every part of your life. He wants to be your ever present teacher. Your constant companion. The one who is leading you and guiding you and pointing you to the life God wants you to live.
The Holy Spirit wants to guide you into living the God-filled life.
It’s a life filled with love. A life that is full of joy. A life characterized by peace. A life that is capable of long-suffering. A life that is always kind towards others. A life defined by goodness. This is the life, the everlasting life, the Holy Spirit of God is guiding you into living.
What if the Holy Spirit were our guide?
What if we weren’t guided by the way things used to be? What if we weren’t guided by fear? What if we weren’t guided by what might happen if? What if we weren’t guided by what will make us rich? What if we weren’t guided by what will make us feel important or look important? What if we weren’t guided by the things of this world or our own sinful desires?
What if we were guided by the Holy Spirit?
My prayer is that this would be our aim. This would be our desire. This would be our goal. That this is what we would be KNOWN FOR.
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