I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. —Psalm 32:8

Click here to read today’s Scripture: Psalm 32

I’ve made many road trips across the United States, visiting churches and sightseeing at National Parks along the way.  Before each trip, I make thorough plans with lists of preparations to be undertaken before the trip could start. With a calendar for the timing of my speaking engagements on one side and a road atlas on the other, I would draw out the routes on a map and look for things I wanted to see along the way. (This was before Google Maps!)  I listed items I would have to take with me and made sure my vehicle was running well.  

It’s important to be prepared because the unexpected always happens. It might be some necessary item that was forgotten, that you end up having to purchase. Other times, you pull up to a hotel and find no reservation was made, and the hotel is full. You need to make the best of the situation.  

Sometimes, even with the detailed planning of the routes, you find yourself facing a road sign that says, ROAD CLOSED, DETOUR. A bridge may be out, or road construction underway, and you can’t go the way you planned. You follow the signs, wondering where you are going and how you will ever get to where you originally wanted to go.  Though you had made careful plans for where to buy gas, you begin to look at the gas gauge and wonder if you’re going to make it to the next gas station.  Other things can go wrong, too, like a flat tire, or the engine overheating, causing other delays and difficulties.  

A road trip is a lot like our lives. We think we have everything mapped out for where we want to go, the things we want to do, and what we want to become in life. But then life happens.  Things don’t go the way we planned. 

As Christians, the Bible is our road map for life, to see where we are and what we need to get us where we should be. And along the way, we will find that the Lord provides for those setbacks and wrong turns we make.  And the fuel that gets us to our destination is not gas, but the power of the Holy Spirit.  

We must remember that in all circumstances the Lord is in control, even and especially when we are or feel out of control. Romans 8:28 assures us, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Reflect: Where are you on your journey with the Lord? Do you find your tank running out and needing a refilling of the power of the Holy Spirit?   

Prayer Starter: 

Lord, help me to look to You on this journey of life.  Show me the way You want me to go.  I trust You to get me to where I need to be.

Share this with a friend