Ever taken a wrong turn on your journey? I certainly have. I’ve taken many detours and u-turns. Finally, though, I think I’m headed in the right direction, thanks to my Heavenly GPS, which is so different from that annoying voice on the GPS in my car which screams, “recalculating, recalculating, recalculating,” even when I know I am just turning around to head in the right direction.
The Perfect GPS
G.P.S. stands for Global Positioning System. I count on it when driving in new places, especially through large cities and in heavy traffic. It’s so much easier than the old days with bulky atlases and road maps. Our heavenly Father has an easy system for us to follow as well. It’s called the Bible, the Word. It’s my Heavenly G.P.S., God’s Perfect Salvation.
The way to go is spelled out very clearly for us to follow, if we so choose. There is a road commonly known as “The Roman Road,” which leads to understanding of salvation with such scriptures as Romans 3:23, 5:8-9, 6:23 and 10:9-10.
When we choose not to follow God’s ways, it reminds me of going mudding in an ATV. We come out covered in mud from riding through puddles and ditches. It might be fun for a little while, but it is no way to live every day.
When we are going our own way in the world of self-indulgence, the mud and slime gets all over us. Jesus, though, will bring us out of a pit, out of the miry clay, set our feet on a rock and establish our steps if we ask. He washes us off and makes us clean from the inside out.
Detours
Just as with our car’s G.P.S., we can ignore the directions which will get us to our destination and wander off the best pathway. I took a 15-year detour through a rough dirt road named “alcoholism and drug addiction.” Even though there was a voice on the inside of me saying don’t go this way, I did it anyway, and suffered many bumps, bruises and crashes along the way. I also ran over a few people in the process.
In 1983 I hit a roadblock with a big crash. I could not go forward and could not back up. I was stuck. I cried out to a God and He gave me a total course correction. My journey with Him began then, but because I did not completely follow my eternal road map, I continued to run into areas called sin, which caused even more detours.
Then came the time when I hit another wall. Every road I had taken led me to a place of hopelessness and despair. I was clean and sober, but my insides were full of emotional turmoil. At that moment, I had a visual I will never forget. It was of Jesus hanging on the cross. He looked down at me and said, “You must forgive to be forgiven.” This was a gigantic U-turn in my life. I surrendered to Him and began a new journey.
New Roads to Travel
In 1998 the road took me to the Dairy Queen drive-through I frequented daily for lunch. As I drove up that day, I saw a man working next door. He was someone I had hated for 40 years. Before I got my hamburger, I said to God, “I choose to forgive that man.” A few days later, in a little house church, I received a new connection to my Heavenly G.P.S. It came in the form of two baptisms, one of water and one of the Holy Spirit. I believe it began when I released the hatred from my life.
All of a sudden, it was like lights flashing and bells clanging. Instead of hearing “recalculating”, it was “recharging, recharging, recharging.” I started down the right road of understanding the Word of God for the first time. I began soaking up His words with a clarity I had never known. A genuine love for God’s Word was instilled deep inside me, along with a new hope and a new freedom I had never experienced. Finally, I was on the real road to destiny.
Rhonda Burrows lives in Palestine, TX, in a log cabin in the woods with her husband, six Shetland Sheepdogs and five cats. They have six children and seven grandchildren. Her Facebook page is Ark of Grace. For other posts by Rhonda, go here.
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