Hope for the Directionally Challenged

Enjoy this devotional from FlourishWriters student Sabrina Parsons

“I’m lost.” 

I spoke through my sobs.

“Where are you?” 

“I don’t know! But I’m late, and I’ll never get there at this rate, and everything will be ruined!” 

Panic had settled in.

I have a problem. I am…let’s call it, “directionally challenged.” Maybe you can relate?

Whenever I travel to a new destination, I tend to get, well, a bit lost. You may be thinking, “How does someone get lost with GPS and all our navigation tools?” Hang with me for a minute.

You may not remember a time before GPS and Google Maps. I do. 

Growing up in Alaska, it wasn’t too hard for me to get around. We had a couple of main highways and lots of side roads. I did fine unless I went to Anchorage, a city with a million ways to get lost … if you were me.

When we moved to Virginia, I knew I was in trouble. So. Many. Roads. My husband, bless his heart, who, I might add, is NOT directionally challenged, would sweetly give me directions. 

It went like this: 

“Go north on 10^th Street until you come to Main Street, then go west for about a mile and take the exit to the interstate.” 

Now, I should probably tell you this: in my mind, north is always in front of me, south is behind me, and the rest? You get the point. My husband would show me a map when verbal directions failed. Yeah, OK. I’d smile and head off, hoping for the best. Shortly after leaving, I would call him, frustrated and in tears.

After giving him a good reference point, he would figure out where I was and give me turn-by-turn directions until I reached my destination. Did I mention I have the most patient husband ever?

Enter navigation tools. Who was more excited about them—my husband or me? (I’m guessing my husband). So, these days I plug in my starting point and destination, and voila! Easy, right? Most times, yes. 

Yet even with GPS, I occasionally get some detours and re-routes on my way to the destination. Traffic congestion, road construction, and accidents are all causes for that GPS to start chattering at me, “I found a faster route that will save you 10 minutes and avoid an accident ahead, say ‘yes’ to accept or ‘no’ to stay on your current route.” 

A faster route. All I must do is say “yes” to accept the new way and avoid the pitfalls and wasted time.

Recently, on a 4-hour drive to a place I’d never been, my GPS re-routed me at least eight times. Once, I didn’t say “yes” to the new route quickly enough, then took my own detour to make up for it. Imagine how well that went. 

But it was OK. My GPS knew where I was and gave me a new route to get back on the path I was supposed to be traveling.

God does the same re-routing for us. He is the ultimate GPS: “God Positioning System,” I like to think.

Driving along that day, I recalled all the times God had found me, turned me around, and re-routed me to the right path.

Your word is like a lamp that guides my steps, a light that shows the path I should take. (Psalm 110:105 ERV)

It didn’t matter if my wrong turns were of my own making or caused by other people’s actions or circumstances beyond my control. The result was the same. God found me right where I was and put me back on solid ground. 

He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path, and steadied me as I walked along. (Psalm 40:2 TLB)

Sweet friend, navigating this life is not always easy. Whatever road you are traveling at this moment, God sees you. You are not lost to Him. He sees you right where you are, even when you feel no hope of finding your way and all is lost. It’s not. 

Ask Him to help you find the way. You don’t need the “right” words to ask. Just turn your heart toward Him, and you will find Him standing by, waiting to whisper turn-by-turn directions to show you the way you should go.

God has shown me this truth time and time again. He invites us to follow Him, to trust Him to lead us through this life. We are not guaranteed the shortest, fastest, or easiest paths. We will have detours. We will get lost along the way. Sometimes we will find ourselves in utter despair. But we need not worry. He knows the way.

Beautiful, amazing adventures lie ahead, sweet friend. Will you come along?

Sabrina Parsons is an aspiring author who can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t writing. As a little girl, she was scribbling out stories about horses and unicorns. Today, her passion is to write words encouraging others to embrace their unique, God-given identities and inspire them to live life fully in Christ. When not writing, you will find her laughing with her husband, Chris, cuddling with her two puppies, and enjoying a steaming mug of coffee with her face buried in a book. She and Chris love spending time outdoors and on the water at their home on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.