Guided Steps
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
Our family discovered a new hobby — Geocaching! If you don’t know about Geocaching, allow me to quickly fill you in. Geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunt, using a GPS and coordinates to locate a cache box, which normally contains a log journal and small items left by other geocachers. It really is a fun activity that the whole family can enjoy.
Our first cache was at Tallulah Gorge State Park in Northeast Georgia. Armed with coordinates and small Disney trinkets to share some Florida love, we headed off to find the treasure. We followed the GPS off the trail, around the bend, through branches, ducking trees and crossing creeks. Surprisingly, finding the cache box was not easy! Something didn’t seem quite right. I know the search is supposed to be a challenge but this was getting ridiculous. The path was not correct!
I finally asked my husband, “Did you get accurate coordinates?”
Yeah for a cell phone signal – even in the midst of a hike in a gorge! My husband logged into the geocaching website and double-checked the coordinates. Turns out, he had transposed two numbers. What a huge difference! Once he correctly logged the correct coordinates into the GPS, we quickly came upon the cache box (not far off the trail) and we had successfully completed our first geocaching adventure!
Getting two small numbers transposed made a huge difference in where our steps led. Have you ever felt like you have gotten off track?
Our adventure in double checking numbers made me think about how God directs our steps, and unlike human hands who can mistype a number (or human eyes that can mis-read), He makes no mistakes. He is there guiding and directing our paths each and every way. We sometimes just don’t listen and can end up off the trail.
Proverbs 16:9 (ESV) says,
The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.
When we become children of God, we can better know God’s plans for us by committing to the study of God’s word and praying. Remember, he already has a plan and his Word is our guide. Sometimes things are hard or we might not completely understand them. Thankfully when we get off track, the work of the Holy Spirit can convict us to get back on the correct path.
Casting Crowns has a song called Already There. I want to share some of the lyrics because it so beautifully sums up the point that God is directing our steps.
From where I’m standing
Lord, it’s so hard for me to see
Where this is going
And where You’re leading meI wish I knew how
All my fears and all my questions
Are going to play out
In a world I can’t controlFrom where You’re standing
Lord, You see a grand design
That You imagined
When You breathed me into lifeAnd all the chaos
Comes together in Your handsOne day I’ll stand before You
And look back on the life I’ve lived
I can’t wait to enjoy the view
And see how all the pieces fit
Today, trust in knowing the truth, that God is guiding our steps. He will lead us faithfully to the ultimate treasure – eternal life with our savior! He is already there and knows your path from eternity past to eternity future!
In Christ Alone,
Dana
Lyrics from eLyrics.net
Words from Already There by Mark Hall.
I am so very thankful that God is leading my path.
What a beautiful analogy, Dana. I totally agree, we sometimes get off of the path, but if we listen closely, He will direct us back on the right path.