Have you every set out on a trip, but you knew you were not quite sure how to get there? If so, you might do what most people decide to do. You program the address of your destination into your GPS and off you go. Well, recently I did just that, as I was off to take my son to his Lacrosse game. The game was at a location that we had never been to before. So although I programmed my GPS with the correct information, for some reason, I just knew that taking the expressway would still be the fastest way to get there. Besides, I did remembered seeing an exit for that particular city (where we are headed) at other times when traveling on the expressway before. However, when I got on the expressway, my GPS told me to get off and go another direction. “Strange” I thought, but I did what it said.
Needless to say, my GPS took us on an adventure! It took us out in the middle of nowhere. We actually saw Llama's! Who knew that Llamas’s roamed wild in Northern Virginia. Anyway, I felt so lost, isolated, and definitely out of my comfort zone, but I had to trust this thing to get us to where we were trying to go. I just knew we would end up at the wrong destination and miss the game all together, because I thought surely this place could not be this far out. Nevertheless, we did arrive there within an hour’s time. However, on our way home, I refused to go back the same way we came. It was too long and the unfamiliar, unknown, unsure, and uncomfortable feelings that I had coming made me ever determined not to follow the same directions back. Besides, I just wanted to find a faster way home that would keep me on the main roads.
Long story short, I continued on my chosen route even though my GPS was telling me to make a U TURN, but I kept going my own way. After a while, it stopped talking to me and I just knew I was on the right path. Then about 20 minutes later, my GPS said “turn right.” My son begged me to just do it, so I did. And guess what? It led me right back to the original path that I was supposed to be on all along to get me to my final destination. Although I got home, I discovered that I arrived much later than I should have only because I thought I knew better how to get there, and because I wanted to get there sooner than the route designed for me to take.
When we are pursuing our destiny, there is an assigned path for us to take. It is a different route then what you seeing others taking. It is tailored just for us. Our destination may take us off the familiar paths. We might have to go deeper, more inward to access the right path for us to take. We may not like it, because the path makes us feel uncomfortable with the unknown and unfamiliar. It may not feel like this is the right way to go. You may even feel lost at times, but if we trust God (who is our GPS) He knows where we are and how to get us to where we need to be on time, if we follow His directions.
The longer we feel like “we got this” and we ignore or resist heeding the constant instructions given to us regarding what to do next or where to make the next turn, we will inevitably delay our own progress. This will cause our arrival to our ultimate destination to take much longer. Remember, there are no short cuts to destiny. It’s not about seeing who can get to the finish line first, because it is not a race. Your destination is a journey. So stay on your path until you get there no matter how long it takes!
REFLECTION: Proverbs 3:5-6 states “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.”
SUCCESS ACTION: If you ever thought that you would be further along than you are, examine where you are, how you got there, and then decide what you need to do to get back on your path to destiny.