I've just started reading Andy Stanley's great new book The Principle of the Path. I haven't finished it yet, but the gist of the book is that the path we're on is definitely leading somewhere, so make very sure you're on the right path. It is a thought-provoking read; I'll say more about it in another post when I'm finished with it.After a lunch meeting with Brian Turnquist up at Bethel today, I was driving down to see Jeanette Holm in her nursing home in Eden Prairie. I'd never been there before and always find Eden Prairie confusing anyway, so I pulled out my little cheapo GPS unit, plugged in the address and hit the "Go" button. I then sat back in my seat and mindlessly began to obey the occasional voices telling me where to turn.
Unfortunately, my GPS steered me wrong. First, it sent me on what might have been a geographically faster route years ago, but it paid no attention to all the stoplights and traffic it mechanically sent me through. Then, when I got down to the new 35W/62 crosstown construction area, the thing went crazy. Completely unaware of the pretzel 62 has now become, it went into "recalculating" overdrive! Eventually, I just ignored it and headed for Eden Prairie, trusting the machine would figure me out eventually. It did.
Sometimes I wonder if we're often so blindly following and obeying the sinfully damaged, roboticly blind GPS instructions of this world, we're not even in the right ZIP code to notice or experience the best surprises of God. I think so. I know that's true in my case.
I wonder if that isn't one of the biggest reasons God does/allows some of the drastic things He does in our lives. We're on the wrong road, zooming 100 MPH in a direction we don't want to go, often toward a cliff we don't even know is there. And so God steps in and blows a tire or two...anything to get us stopped for a moment and rationally rechecking our path and progress. God allows an unpleasant surprise, so He can get us back on the path toward His best surprise.
Perhaps one of the most important steps in a properly/pleasantly surprising life is making sure we're using the right GPS! Make sure your "God Positioning System" is properly set before leaving the garage!
Just a thought.
LORD, surprise me by showing me all the best paths to all your best surprises!
Amen.
