Navigation System vs. Map
By Pastor Ben

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”     (Psalm 37:5)

I want to trust navigation systems; I really do. But instead, I have a love-hate relationship with them. They impress me, but I just can’t bring myself to trust them 100%. Their are too many unknowns. So, if I’m going on a long trip, I very often print out a map — just in case my navigation system fails. Then, I confidently start my car and take off — with my back-up plan in hand.
Is that really confidence? Is that really trust? Is that really faith? Can we be confident and trusting without a back-up plan?
Abraham was:

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
                                (Hebrews 11:8)

No navigation system. No map. Just trust in God. Seriously, Abraham? Seriously?!
When the Lord spoke, Abraham listened. He and his family trusted God 100%. They followed the Lord’s direction and plan, leaving their country and extended family. Who has that kind of trust? When you’re down to the last $50 in your bank account… when your friend is diagnosed with cancer or Alzheimer’s… when your co-workers dismiss your faith as baloney — can you trust that God’s direction is always best?

The full-fledged trust that Abraham displayed is possible only for the righteous — those who know and trust the righteousness Christ gives and who rely on the forgiveness He won for us.

There is no back-up plan for our salvation. We can trust God’s flawless navigation, the navigation that took Jesus from a stable in Bethlehem to a cross at Golgotha to an empty tomb on Easter morning. Jesus is our Savior, and He’ll never let us down.

We don’t need a map because God tells us where to go. Dead in our sins, we look to Jesus to make us alive. Unsure of where to turn to next, we focus our eyes on the Cross. Walking as strangers here on earth, we place our hope in Jesus and the mansion He is preparing for us in Heaven.

Put your trust in the divine Navigator, Jesus Christ. When you feel yourself reaching for a back-up plan, PRAY! Ask for God’s direction, trust His forgiveness, and always keep the Cross in sight.

PRAYER STARTER:
Lord God, I may not be able to see the future, but I know You are leading me. . .