Without fail, I always added a thirty minute detour when I traveled to Louisville, Kentucky for classes and conferences, all because I failed to check my GPS. As you draw closer to the city, there is a hard-to-see exit off to the right—137B to be exact—and if you don’t switch lanes early, you will miss it because of the heavy traffic. Of course, I always zipped past it due to being immersed in classic rock on the radio or an audiobook. On the bright side, I got to explore several cities I had never visited before!

It wasn’t the fault of the GPS. It told me where to go. But it was up to me whether or not I listened. The GPS always gave the right directions, but I remained in control of the car. The availability of guidance wasn’t the problem—my lack of attention was.

And the same is true while traveling the heavenbound road of righteousness. The holy Scripture is the Lord’s GPS for our lives—God’s Positioning System. It tells us where to go, where not to go, what to do, and what not to do. As the psalmist declared, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105, KJV). The prophet Isaiah echoed the same truth: “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left” (Isa. 30:21).

However, just as with a GPS, we must choose to listen to and obey the directions the Lord provides in His word. We are still behind the wheel of our own lives, and the fateful power of decision is in our hands. And we could avoid many regretful detours of disobedience if we simply heeded the guidance of God’s word. This is why the Lord gently urges us, “Listen diligently to me . . . Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live” (Isa. 55:2b-3a). And He graciously assures us, “But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster” (Prov. 1:33).

The English hymn-writer William W. How (1823-1897) captured this wonderfully in O Word of God Incarnate, saying that the Bible

“. . . Floateth like a banner

before God’s host unfurled;

it shineth like a beacon

above the darkling world.

It is the chart and compass

that o’er life’s surging sea,

‘mid mists and rocks and quicksands,

still guides, O Christ, to Thee.”

Are you listening to your GPS?

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