Removing the bubble

I pulled it out of the middle console and brushed off the dust that had settled on it and plugged it in and proceeded to turn it on and had confident assurance that I could tell it to TAKE ME HOME and as it has in the past it would do again today. As I went to push the button on the screen it did not take me to the next step where I could choose what direction I wanted to go. It was then I noticed there was a water bubble floating back and forth inside the screen which had thrown it's system out of wack and it was incapable of doing it's job for me. Even after being aware of this I continued to push it harder thinking if I just push it a certain way it will activate for me and indeed get me to my destination. After countless tries I took it down and put it away and sat behind the wheel in a parking lot not having started out yet on my drive home. Thoughts invaded me of, "I'm in an unfamiliar area, I hate being lost, esp without a working navigation system and if I dont' get home soon I will miss picking up the kids and will be driving around in circles wasting gas and eventually get stuck in friday rush hour traffic. I decided to pick up the phone and call my friend and share with her that I needed her to guide me back to the main road. If I had not called her I would probably still be driving in circles around the Univ of MD campus or possibly taken a wrong exit onto a toll road (which would of been not good since I used all my quarters in the parking meter!).
I got to thinking, how often is it in life that we rely or depend on a man made product or other people's advice to direct our way and give us assurance to feel safe and capable of finding where we are supposed to be going? If we sit in the drivers' seat of life on our own and aren't willing to scoot over and give God the wheel we often attempt to navigate where to turn, what choice to make, and contemplate how we will get "there" and sometimes we do not even know where "there" is and instead we find ourselves in the middle of NOWHERE. We begin seeking help from broken maps and worldly advice that results in us driving in circles and losing valuable gas and energy in the process. In Psalm 32:8 it says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;I will counsel you and watch over you."
We can rest assured there are no water bubbles or malfunctions in God's navigational device he has created for us (THE BIBLE), we simply need to "turn it on/open it up and read it". 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 will direct your paths." This is not to say we can not take instruction or advice from someone, because God indeed does place certain people in our paths to sometimes redirect us or hand us a flashlight when we are lost in the dark. We just need to check that what they are saying to us is truly from God and not from just them. In Proverbs 12:26 it says, "A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray." I've had my Garmin/gps system in full working condition before and it still took me on a wild goose chase doing uturns, going in circles and taking me out of the way to get me to my destination. I've learned to hand write out directions to most places I am going now because I am aware that placing trust in something/someone that "seems trustworthy" is not always as helpful as the box, sales person or friend giving advice is assuring you of.
Just as I have been writing out bible verses and sticking them on the front door as reminders and I have a notepad of a few verses on it so that when I get into situations where I'm not sure which way to "turn" I can read one of them and trust that what it is saying is indeed helpful and something I can be assured of because it is from God and not man. The more we read God's map and scroll through his gps system that He so freely offers us we become more aware of where His THERE for our lives is and whose directions/advice we can accept and whose have bubbles in them. God has a plan/destination/purpose for each of us and is even willing to drive us there Himself if we are willing to scoot over, hand over the wheel, take him out from the middle console that we have been keeping him in, clean off the dust we let accumulate and push the button on the screen that says, "Location: Wherever you take me Lord." It might not be a 5 minute drive to get there but if we follow his route/let Him guide us through our life we will be able to more easily avoid potholes, traffic jams and the fear of being alone and lost in unfamiliar territory. Next time you find yourself on a road or in a parking lot not even sure of how to start out and unaware of what direction you are going simply call up to God's 24 hour roadside assistance and let Him debubble YOUR system so you can get where He is wanting you to be.
I am happy to say that because I sought out directions today from someone whom God placed in my mind to call and ask that I made it safely home in time to get the kids and I avoided traffic and top of everything else learned a new route to a place I had never been before. Stay alert to God's voice, road signs and lessons he is going to continue to teach us as we follow him on the path He has set out for us. Jeremiah 29:11"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."