Route Calculation Complete

Atlanta is famous for, among other things, Coca-Cola and Delta. 

Atlanta is infamous for, among other things, traffic and traffic. 

I travel frequently for work.  More often than not, these business trips take me south of the city.  On this particular day, I left work early so that, hopefully, I could get down I-75 and through Atlanta relatively unscathed.  A tank full of gas and a bag full of snacks.  I was road ready.

Like I said, I travel frequently.  This was not my first trip.  I knew “the way.”  But because you can never underestimate the ferocity of Atlanta traffic, I turned on Google Maps.  “It’s a straight shot.  But…just in case…,” I thought.

Google immediately alerted me to a slow down up ahead.  Car accident.  Predictable.  “There is a 9-minute delay,” Google said, “but you are still on the fastest route.”  “Oh great,” I thought.    

Within minutes, perhaps even seconds, Google changes her mind.  She tells me to exit.  “Why?” I argue.  “You just told me that I was on the fastest route.  Are you sure?”  I took her silence as a “yes.”  Without further debate, I obeyed.  I exited.  And I turned.  And I merged.  And I kept straight.  I did what I was told.  Rather reluctantly at some points.  Apprehensive at others.  But what Google said, I did.

She took me through neighborhoods in Atlanta that I didn’t even know existed.  Okay, I’ll admit it.  I like to get lost sometimes.  So, as I wound through the city, the adventurer in me got excited.  I wondered where these unknown roads would take me.  I wondered how they would come together to get me to my destination.

I wondered…

I looked at the people walking along the streets.  I wondered who they were.

I looked at the abandoned houses.  I wondered how they could be restored to their original beauty and become homes for the homeless.

I looked at the newer, renovated houses.  I wondered who would buy them, who would choose this neighborhood as the setting for their life story.

It was a beautiful journey.  It was a pleasantly peaceful ride.

And then I wondered… could my life’s journey, if I trusted Jesus like I do Google, be this beautiful and peaceful? 

“Are you sure that this is the right way, Lord?  This is an unfamiliar route.  I think that the other way would be better.  It’s straighter.  Are you really sure?”  What if I stopped debating and asking Him the same doubt-filled questions?  What if I stopped assuming that I already knew the best way?  What if I yielded and allowed the Word to compass my heart and map my life? 

What if I started to trust that Jesus knows, not only my destination, but also my way?  What if I started believing that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the twists and turns, in the exits and merges?  What if I started to use God’s Provision System?  What if…  I wondered…

Google Maps is man-made, operational only through a satellite that man has put in the sky.  If there’s some shift in the atmosphere or mechanical failure, then dependent man is lost.

God is..well God…  He created the heavens and the earth.  This God is THE way.  This God has no variation or shadow of turning.  In Him, dependent man is found.

Eventually, Google led me around the traffic and back to the interstate.  I had successfully avoided the hindrances.  As I got comfortable, however, at ease with the last leg of the drive, I glimpsed a dark car coming into my lane.  It was about to sideswipe me.  I honked my horn, and thankfully, avoided impact. 

On this road of faith and patience, just when we’re starting to allow Jesus full navigational control, the enemy will try to force us off of the road with disbelief and fear.  Be circumspect.  Be discerning.  Be sensitive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Don’t hesitate to sound the alarm.

This trip took longer than usual, much longer than expected.  From it, I see that, in life, God is much more concerned about our safe arrival than He is about the length of time that it took for us to get there.  He’s already faithful.  He’s already patient.  He has all of the time in the world to make us beautiful and to manifest our every purpose.  God says, “Route calculation complete.” 

PRINCIPLE:  “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”  James 1:3-4