Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way but the Lord establishes his steps.

 I do most of the driving in my family. Vacations and family trips will usually be driven, to and from, by me. However, I am not complaining. I drive because I struggle with motion sickness. So driving is mostly my choice. Since I do most of the driving, I like to use my GPS.  For me, there are two reasons I like my GPS. The first reason is the directions of course. The second is I like to watch the time that I should arrive at the destination as I drive. However, there is one problem with my GPS. It is outdated. It will not give you alerts or reroute you to miss any traffic. This becomes a problem when we encounter traffic. Doing this usually results in my wife pulling out her phone and walking me through a new route. All the while, my GPS is telling me to turn around at every street while saying "recalculating" every 5 seconds. Yes, I know I should just get a new GPS.

Often in life we will be faced with challenges that don't seem to provide a solution for themselves. Like driving to a new or unknown destination, we must try to rely on some source of direction. We as believers will be faced with the choice of finding our own way by "winging it". Or rely on the guidance of our Heavenly Father.  Solomon wrote these words of wisdom as a reminder that the "winging it" approach often can lead us the wrong way. "The heart of man plans his way but the Lord establishes his steps."  Why? Because as Jeremiah said, in Jeremiah 17:9,  "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?". Often the heart will lead you contrary to where you need to go. As a pastor, I have seen this countless of times played out in relationships.  Our hearts tend to argue with what God says is an unhealthy relationship. We argue with the Holy Spirit and say things like, "God wants me to be happy and this relationship makes me happy so it must be God's will for me." Beloved, God not only looks at your monetary happiness, but He looks at your eternal joy. This means, He will lead you away from a spiritual unhealthy relationship like in a job, or plan that you are working on for your life. Trust In Him.  He knows whats best for you. My outdated heart of flesh has to be reminded daily that I am a new creation in Christ. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." This means, I no longer have to "wing it." I have the ultimate wing man, The Holy Spirit, who has come to lead me in all things. 

 Often I will verify my GPS route with the route my phones navigation app will give me. Why? Because I know I can't always trust my outdated GPS.  Sounds absurd right?  I guess I have a fear that if I don't know the whole route ahead of time I may be led down the longest path instead of the shortest.  I don't like it that my GPS only gives me one instruction at a time.  Does this sound familiar? Have you ever been waiting on instructions from the Lord but you would rather have the whole list of directions up front so you can verify its the shortest route?  Listen beloved, God's plan and route for your life is not derived by an outdated method.  He sees from higher than the satellites, and He can lead you down the right path.  Sometimes there will be traffic.  Sometimes there will be unforeseen circumstances that will seem to delay the arrival at the destination He has for you. Remember this, what is unseen by you has already been routed through by Him. Nothing has escaped His eye.  He has not led you astray.  He has not taken away anything that was meant to be permanent in your life. Maybe you didn't get what you prayed for because it's not ready yet or it's not what He sees is best for you.  He sees what you can't.  It is better to trust in Him than in our own deceitful hearts that can only see what is in front of us.

 I'll close with this. Psalms 32:8-9 says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you." How would you rather be led?  Like a horse or mule with a painful bit in your mouth?  Not me.  However, I have sometimes found myself pulling back like a stubborn mule because I  thought my way was better.  In the end, God's counsel and leading has never failed me.  Trust in Him.

In the Love of Christ.

Pastor Michael