Have you ever noticed that when you are going somewhere you have never been how much longer it seems to take and how much more difficult it is than when you are familiar with the way?
A couple of weeks ago, we were invited to a Sunday afternoon graduation celebration of a young man my husband works closely with at his job. It was held at his family's home, which is slightly less than an hour and a half from where we live, in a rural area where we had never been.
It was a beautiful afternoon, but as we traveled we were constantly reminded that we had never been that way before! We were completely dependent on our GPS to get us there. Interstate gave way to less traveled country roads, and there were lots of twists and turns. We explicitly followed the directions of the GPS because we had no idea where we were or where we would end up!
In contrast, a few days later on the 4th of July, my husband and I were both blessed with the holiday off (a rare thing for him) and since we had no plans, we decided to make a trip to the beach. Since my husband is recovering from surgery he wasn't up to walking on the beach (and he is not a beach fan anyway!) but he could sit on a pier and fish. We chose a beach that we had been to quite a few times before and even taken family to because it was closer and because it also has a fishing pier.
This trip was so different than the one we had taken just three days before. We were familiar enough with the route that we didn't even need to turn our GPS on. We knew exactly how to get there. We had the benefit of experience and were very confident of the way.
I found myself thinking about these trips this week when I was reading one of my favorite passages, 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 shall direct your paths." The phrase that stands out to me is "lean (or depend) not on your own understanding." Which is exactly what I usually do.
I am reminded once again that trust comes into play not when we understand the way, but when we don't know where we are going. When I am on a road where I have been before, I depend on my experience. I don't ask for directions because I am confident that I know the way. But when I am traveling a road that I have never been before, I want to know exactly how I am going to get there. I depend on the directions. I like familiar landmarks because they show me that I am on the right road. I want to know that I am making the right decisions and that I will end up at the right place!
Some other verses came to mind when it comes to thinking about travel, especially with the children of Israel and their journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land. I find it especially interesting that God didn't lead them by the expected route - Exodus 13:17-18. No, He led them the long way around - because He had a plan to test them, teach them and humble them (Deut. 8:2). It struck me this week when I read Exodus 13:18 that God led them directly to the Red Sea! Right where He knew they would encounter a problem and would have to depend on Him to get them where they were going and where He could show His power! Does that sound familiar to you? It does to me!
I don't even begin to understand why I am on a completely different road than what I set out on. I have no idea how or where it's going to end up. That's exactly where God wants me to be - to depend on Him for everything - and not on my own experience. How about you?
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