On God and the Garmin

Despite having a pretty good sense of direction, I feel helpless without my Garmin. Why is that? I know my way around for the most part, but every once in a while I’m driving and have no idea how to get back to a main road.

For that and other reasons (like our frequent estate sale shopping) we bought a Garmin. For the most part, I really love it. (My one complaint is that it sometimes blabs on and on while we’re having a conversation in the car. It interrupts a lot, which it needs to in order to make sure we’re going the right way, but sometimes it’s annoying – even though it’s necessary.)

The other day I met a friend for lunch and even though I had been to the location before, I had the Garmin on. I love the Garmin! But one thing happened that surprised me, it suggested a route that I had never been on. I couldn’t believe it was suggesting this as the way to go. But you know what? I wasn’t worried about it. I knew I would get there when I needed to so I just sat back and enjoyed the scenery.

But on that trip, a thought occurred to me. If I’m so content when the Garmin makes my path go somewhere different, why don’t I feel the same way when my life path is changed by God? Why don’t I “enjoy the scenery” of things I wouldn’t have normally seen if I had gone the way I intended, instead of the way God intended?

The Garmin, while being great to use, is a device and it can fail or take you the wrong way once in a while. Or maybe even, the way that would add more miles, even if it does save time.

But God is infallible, and yet, my first reaction when my path is changed by Him is WHY. That’s the biggie I used to struggle with, and it’s only recently I’m finally getting a handle on the fact that it doesn’t matter why. It just is.

And just like the Garmin, God will sometimes interrupt. He’ll shut down a conversation or interrupt our thoughts with a revelation or two that we need to pay attention to. How do we react when this happens? Do we just pause and wait for it to be over? Or do we listen?

I didn’t used to be good at listening. I didn’t even realize I was being disobedient then. I thought I was just working hard and that’s what I needed to do. When people told me to “Let go and let God” I wasn’t even sure what that meant.

But now I know. I’m still learning, of course. Aren’t we all? But when God shouts out a direction change for me, I’m getting better at just trusting that His way will get me there, and in the process I’ll enjoy the ride a whole lot more.