Trust God - He's "Been There Before"

Our world is filled with tons of uncertainty. Question marks are splattered across our economy, and the unknown looms large on the horizon of our international scene.

But I’ve heard it said that I don’t have to fear what tomorrow holds because I know who holds tomorrow. In other words, although I don’t know the future, God has “been there before” because He's not bound by time at all. In fact, He knows the end of my life from its beginning, and I can trust Him to guide and protect me. The Lord says in Isaiah 46:10, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” (NIV).

Now, I’ve been aware of this simple truth for a long time, but I recently had a lighthearted experience that reminded me to rest in the palm of God’s hand. Here’s what happened.

One of my uncles passed away in the summer of 2008, and his funeral was scheduled to take place while I was in Mississippi at a kid’s camp. So I made arrangements to leave the camp and travel to south Louisiana to be with my family. While a friend suggested I take the interstate highways, I decided to take the “scenic” route instead. I figured that since I had a map and my GPS, there wouldn’t be any problems. Yeah, right!

I should have known something was wrong when I had to stop for directions at the first convenient store I saw. But I kept plowing ahead. Still things only got worse. The next “sign” that I was in trouble was when the lines marking the roads on the map kept changing. Do you know what I mean? The lines went from major roads to less than major roads to I’m-not-sure-if-this-is-even-a-road. Then I was really shocked when the road just ended! That’s right – I came face to face with a ferry boat. When I stopped and studied the map again, I realized I overlooked a little “blue” line intersecting my route.

Of course, I was committed to my course. If I tried to backtrack now, I would never make it to the funeral on time. So you guessed it – I kept on tracking.

But this wasn’t the craziest part of my trip. After I crossed the river, the road changed from pavement to gravel, and I started seeing signs like “Children at Play” and then “Stop or I’ll Shoot!” Well, maybe the signs didn’t have those exact words, but you get the idea.

Yet, oddly, my GPS kept prompting me in its nice, calm, aggravating voice, “Veer left.” Now, you might be asking, “Why didn’t you just ‘veer left’?” Simple, there was a levee to my left. Listen, I’m in south Louisiana, and the levee was about 15-20 feet high. While there were little dirt tracks leading up to the top of the levee every few hundred feet or so, I wasn’t sure it was legal to drive up there.

At this point, I turned my Altima around and tried to find someone who could give me directions. I stopped at the first “inhabited” business I saw, walked in, and asked how to get to the interstate. The kind folks inside pointed and told me to keep following the road – the same road I was just on. I politely mentioned that the road went from pavement to gravel. And to my utter shock they said, “Yeah, that’s why you probably want to take the levee if you’re in a small car.” I pressed, “The levee?” “Sure thing,” they responded without flinching. “Well, okay,” I replied with bewildered respect.

So I got back in my car and headed toward the levee, glanced at my trusted-GPS, and when it said, “Veer left,” I turned and pressed the accelerator.

It was awesome! Even though I was dodging mud-holes, I was traveling about 45 mph – I’m not sure what the speed limit is on a levee because I don’t remember seeing any signs or traffic until a certain point. That’s right! After a few miles the levee took a 90 degree turn, and I started seeing houses off in the distance. Just then I thought to myself, “People live here?” Of course, I got the answer to my question when a mini-van pulled out in front of me. I just kept following the van as it eventually exited off the levee, and I turned right to enter the interstate entrance ramp. In no time at all, I was at the funeral – a little after it started, of course, but I made it.

God used this crazy road trip to teach me that I can trust His GPS - God's Providential Sovereignty. He knows the way. Even though I doubt Him sometimes, I’m actually foolish to lean on my own understanding when traveling down a road I’ve never seen before. Instead, I should walk in the wisdom of Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (NIV).

I’ve learned that even though life is filled with uncertainties, my best course of action is always following God’s directions in Scripture because “[God’s] word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (NIV). He knows the end from the beginning - He's "been there before," and He’ll guide my steps!