The summer I turned sixteen I worked in the PR department of my dad’s office. I was covering the front desk, when a man called in asking for directions to the office. I froze. I had absolutely no clue what to say. After taking a deep breath, I asked him… "what do you see?" He sounded a tad bit confused and surprised, but described the landscape and eventually mentioned that he was by Eatzi’s… well, that was all I needed. I proceeded to give him directions solely based on restaurants: "Turn right at the Eatzi’s, go past the James Coney Island, take a left at Mc Donald’s, stay straight past McCormick and Schmick, head right at…" you get the picture.
I will never forget the look on that man’s face when he got off the elevator and saw me sitting there. He fell over laughing and said, “you were either going to look exactly like you look… or you were going to weigh 600 pounds.”
I think there is an insult somewhere in there (probably going back to the fact that I’m a blonde), but I will, rightfully, take it and say again… I’m not the best at directions.
I can’t tell you where you’re literally going and I most certainly can’t tell you where you’re figuratively going. I don't know why people come into our lives. I don’t know why people are taken away. I don't know the big picture. There are moments that I wish I did, but, in all honesty, I am so glad that all I know is that God knows.
I will never fully understand God’s sovereignty and how it acts in correlation with our free will. If I think about it too long, I get a headache. I do; however, know this: there are no accidents, there are no coincidences, and there are no mistakes too big to thwart God’s plan {Job 42:2}.
I don’t know where you are in life right now. I don’t know if you have been closely walking with the Lord or if you have been doing a full speed dash away from Him. No matter where you are, my prayer for you is this - that you understand, down to your core, that you cannot “trump” God.
When we are walking closely with Him, it is most definitely easier to see His hand in our lives, but when you stumble, when you can't see Him, when things have gone black and they don't make sense at all - He's still there - He's still holding on - He's still working everything out according to His will {Ephesians 1:11}.
I wonder if someone today needs to be reminded that they are not lost. You may have made a wrong turn… if you're like me, you may have made several. You may, this very day, have found yourself at a dead end, but you, my dear, are not wandering aimlessly. Your Lord has not lost you. You have not gone so far down the wrong road that you cannot get back.
And that’s because God is our Garmin.
Now, before you accuse me of blasphemy, please stick with the visual - just like the Garmin states directions one turn, one stop or one cue at a time so too does our Lord give directions one step at a time.
Psalm 119:105 states that the Lord’s word is a “lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path” This truth has often frustrated me because, if you picture a lamp at your feet, the only thing visible is the next place to step.
That, precious one, is where faith comes in. Trusting the One that is leading even though you cannot see the place where you are being led. I have often screamed, begged and pleaded for the whole picture, but, to borrow the word’s of Jack Nicholson, “I can’t handle the truth” I would be - you would be - we all would be - overwhelmed to see where we are actually going - the good and the bad that lie ahead would blow our finite minds away. Following our Father, staying in step with His lead, and leaning on Him when needed is the only way to walk.
But let us not forget the coolest part – the grace of the Garmin and the grace of our God. What does a Garmin say when you’ve made a wrong turn or a misstep?? It pauses and says “Recalculating” and then it provides guidance on what to do next to get you back on the path. This is also true of our great and gracious God. He did not set this world in motion and then take His hands off. Do we have free will? Yes. Did He know what move you were going to make, right or wrong? Yes. Is He sovereign over all of it? Most definitely.
If you have made a wrong turn or several, please remember that, although you may have made your trip a little longer and tougher than it could have been, you have not completely missed the mark, for "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." {Romans 8:28}
God not only knows where you are, but he also knew you'd be there and He knows what He's going to do with all that you've been through.
I’m going to end with what might be my favorite story in the Bible – the story of Ruth. Chapter one of Ruth paints the picture of a girl with a lot of cards stacked against her... she is a widow and a foreigner, who finds herself living with her mother-in-law. In those days, her situation would have been deemed as "hopeless" (let’s face it, those facts don’t look too good in this century either) BUT... amen that there is a chapter 2, which begins with these four words... "as it turned out" {Ruth 2:3}.
I, being the fairy tale fanatic that I am, I equate those words with a heavenly "once upon a time" because that's exactly what they are. They are the beginning of the revealing of the Lord's plan. See, Ruth wasn't lost nor was her story a hopeless disaster. All of the things that happened to her in Ruth 1 led her to where she was supposed to be. Our sovereign, loving God took a story that looked hopeless and, from it, wrote one of the most amazing love stories in the Bible - a love story that forever changed all of our lives because it is a love story that appears in the lineage of Christ.
I’m not the best at directions, but I follow a God who is. He knows exactly where I am and exactly where I am going. He is a master calculator and re-calculator.
And because of that, I'm convinced today, tomorrow and the next day, that, whether we see it or not, we, as Christians, can claim our "as it turned out" - it's a promise actually - it's our eternal inheritance. Not because of anything I have done - not because of anything you have done, but because there is a sovereign God... who never wastes tears.... who is always on time... who is actively working all out for good.
Therefore, I am also convinced that one day, one amazing day, I will look back and see that, even when things looked bleak, scary, confusing and hopeless, "as it turned out" we were right where we were supposed to be.
So, I ask you, just as I asked that business man, years ago - "What do you see?"
Do you see your Lord’s promise? Ok, now drive full force towards it.
-Biblically Blonde
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