When the GPS Says Turn

You have probably had this experience. You are driving somewhere unfamiliar, and your GPS tells you to take a right turn onto a road that looks completely wrong. It is narrow, unlit, maybe even unpaved. Every instinct says, "This cannot be right." But if you have ever overridden the GPS and gone your own way, you know what happens next — that calm, slightly exasperated voice: "Recalculating."

Here is what most of us never think about. The GPS navigation on your phone works by receiving signals from at least four satellites orbiting 12,500 miles above the earth. You cannot see them. You cannot verify they are there. Yet you trust the system enough to follow it into unfamiliar territory, often arriving exactly where you need to be.

The spiritual life works on a similar principle. God sees the full map — every construction delay, every closed road, every shortcut we cannot perceive from ground level. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

The difference, of course, is that GPS satellites are indifferent machines. The God who guides your path is a loving Father who knows your name, counts the hairs on your head, and has walked every mile of the road ahead of you.

Next time your life takes an unexpected turn, remember — the One directing your route has a view you simply do not have yet. Trust the signal.