I recently went on a trip that required me to drive in unfamiliar cities and on strange roads. Some of the places I went were major highways and some were remote neighborhoods. Some of the roads were dirt and gravel, and some were interstate highways. I could drive with confidence because the GPS on my phone would tell me, “In a quarter mile, turn left to merge onto I-75 North,” or something similar.
When you drive over twelve hours in two days, you have plenty of time to meditate. I meditated on many things, but one struck me as particularly funny.
Why do we, why do I, find it so easy to follow directions from a phone on the dashboard of my car, but so hard to follow directions from God? The directions are clear from both sources. The final destination has been programmed into the phone. The absolute final destination of my soul has been promised by God.
And yet, following a voice on my phone, it seems so easy for me to turn down a side road that I have never traveled before, on my way to a place where I have never been, in full confidence. I have faith in the voice in my phone.
Somehow, though, it seems so hard for me to follow the voice of God in matters of family and vocation. These are areas that I know and with which I am familiar, but I hesitate. What if I don’t like the journey? Is the right way for me to go right now? Is the timing right?
My quick answer is common to many people. “How do I know it’s God leading, and not me making my own path?” That is a legitimate question. In fact, I believe it is the best starting point.
John 10: 4 says, “The sheep follow him because they know his voice.” I recognize the voice on my phone, and I follow it. I choose to have faith in it. I should recognize the voice of my Father, and follow it. I must choose to have faith in His voice.
I have decided to ask myself this self-check question: Is the voice from God? Before I concern myself with what the voice says, I choose to get to know my Father, the Almighty God, well enough to recognize His voice. If I know WHO says it, it will become much less important to me whether or not I like WHAT He said. If He says turn, I turn. If He says stop, I stop.
My concern must not be trying to figure out whether or not the message seems right. I must consider whether the Voice is from the Master. My relationship must be right for me to recognize the Voice.
The mini-sermon here is this: If I think I have an obedience problem, or a behavior problem, or even a vocational calling or sin problem, the true answer is probably much shorter. I probably have a relationship problem, and fixing it is up to me!