The Paths less traveled#18 GPS (23rd July 2020)

Dear….

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with My own eye.
Psalm 32:8

Time on an airplane is often a great time for me to reflect and realign my often wayward heart with our Lord. That is no longer possible for now, yet if we are willing, God will speak to us wherever we are. And so this morning, as I was doing my Sunday tete-a-tete with the vacuum cleaner, I had an epiphany moment.

Working while listening through the nice Beo earbuds my children gifted me recently, to a Mandarin sermon on Abraham from my favorite Taiwanese Church, the Pastor shared that God blessed Abraham for his faithfulness. Much as there were times that Abraham did err, in the main, he was a man who was after Godś heart, and through his imperfect moments, experienced the grace of God and learned to put his total trust in Him. And when God asked that Abraham sacrifice Issac on the altar, Abraham obeyed, never asking why or challenging Godś seemingly irrationality.

I was struck by the fact that much as I have obeyed the directions that God has shown me, I have often struggled to obey without question, and in the most recent instance, I thought to just trust and obey the impression that God put my heart, would be irrational without putting in some sensible variations.

Was I more like Gideon? Always seeking to know the conclusion before following rather than to just obey. And interestingly, as I prepared to pen these thoughts, the story of Gideon was where our good Lord brought me to in my quiet time. Gideon put God to the test, asking for signs of assurances and even then, God knew without asking, Gideon needed further reassurances, and God gave it to him.

Is it time for you and I to move from being a Gideon to Abraham? To trust and obey, to do what we can control, which is to honor God in our every action, always looking unto Him, and leaving the conclusion to Him.
For some who might recall, in one of my thoughts penned back in 2014, I shared that God impressed upon my heart to call myself Gideon. And Gideon I did in the spirit though not in taking it on as a name. For a year later, after much wrestling with our Lord, I finally by His grace took the next step of faith, cutting loose my life as a corporate warrior, to live out His call made to me back in Germany in Nov 2011, to lay the path for the next generation, by being a free independent traveler(FIT) in the financial industry.

…..Though it linger, wait for it. It will certainly come and will not delay.
Habakkuk 2:3
Challenges there have been aplenty, but I have come to learn, there is no need for me to challenge God for allowing such refinements, but rather, to ask for wisdom to respond His way, and for patience to wait in obedience for His plans to be fulfilled, rather than to seek for a conclusion our finite way. And God more than provided.

Global Positioning System(GPS) has become a very useful tool for most of us. Gone are the days where one needed to pore over a spread out map on a road trip or the need to stop by a petrol station or convenience store for guidance. GPS has also to some extent made most of us stop using our own intuitive sense of direction. Blind followers we have become, and for some, that includes driving over the steep cliff, because that was what the GPS said so.

...Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household.
Acts 16:31

For most of us, this is our struggle as Christians.
-Do we stop at belief and not follow, because to follow the Holy Spiritś leading entails the need for us to trust and obey, and be prepared to be selfless, often going against our finite rationality.
-it does not mean that we no longer use the wisdom God has given us, but rather, will we submit our own needs on the altar of sacrifice because God has told us so. Just like Abraham willingly prepared to sacrifice Isaac in obedience to the command of God.

China has just completed the final piece in the set up of her own equivalent of GPS, Beidou,
while the EU has their Galileo. But way before any of these positioning systems, God has given us His Holy Spirit.

If you love Me, keep My commands. And I will ask My Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever - the Spirit of truth.
John 14:16-17

As finite men, whether consciously or subconsciously, all of us seek to compromise the path of life God has shown us. Because as the seeds of Adam, we have acquired the fruit of knowledge, and often proffer our idea of how we want the conclusion of our circumstances to be.
Godś Path Saves(GPS), so focus should not be on what the conclusion will be, but rather,
How does one discern the will of God? ( Ans : Time with God as our focus always)
How does one follow and not deviate off center?( Ans: A humbled and contrite heart)
( Read Psalm 25)

...the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 14:26

God Blesses
An afterthought - Time of rest

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. For in the days of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling…....
Psalm 27:4-5

Following Christ is not about a continuous movement of activity, but a heart that continues to seek after God be it in all our activity or in a time of standing still, resting in His presence, to let His Spirit correct, sanctify, refresh and realign our hearts, so we can move forward again.

Rest and abide, only then will we be able to walk fully the path HIs way, that God has set for us. Knowing that God will always divinely intervene and make possible what is impossible for us.

He delivers and rescues, and HE works signs and wonders….
Daniel 6:27