Who's Giving Your Directions?

Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)
“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

Almost every morning when I leave for work, I put the address into my GPS. Here’s the funny part: I know how to get to work. I don’t need GPS to tell me where my job is. I use it because I want to know what’s happening between where I am and where I’m going. Is there traffic? An accident? A road closure? Is there a better route?

Yesterday, I was running late trying to get Sweet Pea situated with all this rain, and I forgot to check my GPS. I got on the highway like I normally would and - BOOM! Traffic. Backed up forever. And while I was trying to figure out another way to go, something hit me.

How easily do we trust GPS? Think about it. We type an address into a little box, hit “go,” and start driving. We don’t know who programmed the route. We don’t know exactly where all that information is coming from. We don’t know if the information is completely accurate or up to date. Technology glitches. Systems fail. Information can be wrong.

But when that little voice says, “Turn right,” what do we do? We turn right. “Turn left.” We turn left. “Rerouting…” And there we go, following some road we’ve never been down before because our phone told us to. 😂

We don’t demand an explanation. We don’t ask to see the entire route first. We don’t say, “Okay, but what happens five miles from now?” We just trust the directions. Yet Isaiah 30:21 says:

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

God says, “This is the way.” And suddenly we (by we, I mean me) have 87 questions. 😂 God says turn, and we ask why. God says wait, and we ask how long. God closes a road, and instead of trusting Him, sometimes we start looking for a way around the barricade. God starts rerouting our lives, and we panic because the new road doesn’t look anything like the route we planned. And that made me realize something:

Maybe the problem isn’t that we don’t know how to trust. Maybe it’s WHO we’re choosing to trust.

Because clearly we know how to follow directions. We’ll trust technology we didn’t create, information we didn’t verify, and a voice coming out of a phone enough to change our entire route.

But Jesus - the One who already knows where we’re going, what we’re going to encounter along the way, what’s around the corner, and what roads were never meant for us - says, “Trust Me,” and sometimes we still want proof before we move.

And I’ll be the first to admit that I struggle with this too. Yesterday, I was supposed to have a job interview. I was looking forward to it, and I had hopes about where that opportunity might lead. But things didn’t work out the way I expected, and the interview was canceled. Was I frustrated? ABSOLUTELY. 😂 Did I get upset? Yup, I won't even lie to you - I sure did!

Did I still tell Jesus I trusted Him? You better believe I did! But here’s the thing. Just because I told Jesus I trusted Him doesn’t mean I wasn’t disappointed. I still had questions. I still wondered why things didn’t work out. And if I’m being completely transparent, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about that particular detour. Lol.

Then I started thinking about the very thing God had placed on my heart while I was sitting in traffic. How can I write about trusting Jesus with the directions if I’m going to get upset every time He allows my plans to change? And then I realized something else. Trusting Jesus doesn’t mean I won’t have feelings about the detour. It means I don’t let those feelings convince me to stop following Him.

I don’t know why that interview didn’t work out. I don’t know whether that opportunity would have been right for me or not. But I do know that one canceled interview doesn’t mean God has forgotten where I’m going.

GPS can tell me there’s traffic ahead. Jesus can see what I can’t. He knows the wreck ahead. He knows which road is closed. He knows which delay may be protecting me. He knows which detour is necessary. He knows what I’m not ready for yet. And He knows when the road I desperately want to take isn’t the road He has for me.

And here’s something else I’m learning: God’s route isn’t always the fastest route. Sometimes there are delays. Sometimes there are detours. Sometimes there are seasons when it feels like we’re going completely the wrong direction. But maybe getting there the fastest was never the point.

Maybe becoming who God needs us to be along the way is part of the destination. The day before yesterday, Jesus had me thinking about express lanes. Yesterday, I forgot to check my GPS, got stuck in traffic, and had to face some disappointment with my own plans.

Apparently, Jesus and I are doing an entire highway sermon series this week. 😂🤷‍♀️ But I’m listening. And I’m learning that I can be disappointed without losing faith. I can be frustrated without giving up. I can have questions without demanding that God answer every single one before I take another step, because before I ask God to bless the direction I’ve already decided to go, maybe I need to start asking:

“Jesus, which way are WE going?”

SOUL DIGGERS 🤍

1. Where in my life am I asking Jesus to explain the entire route before I’m willing to follow His direction?

2. Is there a disappointment, closed door, or detour I’ve been frustrated with that God may actually be using to redirect, prepare, or protect me?

3. If I can trust a GPS enough to change direction when it says “rerouting,” what would change in my life if I trusted Jesus that quickly - even when His directions don’t match my plans?

PRAYER 🙏

Jesus, forgive me for the times I have trusted my own plans, my own understanding, or even the technology in my hand more easily than I have trusted You.

You already know where I am. You know where I’m going. You see every road ahead of me that I cannot see yet.

Lord, You know my heart. You know my frustrations, my disappointments, and the things I’ve been praying for that haven’t worked out the way I hoped. Thank You for loving me even on the days when I say I trust You but still struggle with the disappointment.

Teach me to recognize Your voice and trust You when You say go, when You say wait, when You tell me to turn, and even when You completely reroute the life I thought I was supposed to have.

When I don’t understand the delay, help me trust You. When a door closes, keep me from forcing it back open. When You lead me somewhere unfamiliar, remind me that unfamiliar to me does not mean unfamiliar to You.

And when I start trying to take control of the directions again, remind me that I don’t have to know the entire route.

I just need to know Who I’m following.

In Jesus’ name, Amen. ❤️