I like to camp and canoe in the BWCA – The Boundary Waters Canoe Area. On the border with Canada, the BWCA is a wilderness area with no roads and allows no motors. You navigate with a compass and a map – or possibly a GPS unit.
During the evening on one of the trips we decided to go for a hike along a lakeshore trail. I was in the lead with my map and compass in hand. The kids were in the middle, while Mike, the other experienced BWCA camper, followed up in the rear.
When we got back to camp we discovered Mike wasn’t with us. We yelled for him again and again, but there was no response. Mike was lost in the wilderness. I was at the campsite with two college kids and my 12 year old son. Dusk was approaching rapidly. I had three scared kids with me. And on top of it all, it began to rain.
I knew Mike had no map, compass or GPS. He was a type 1 diabetic who had already suffered a diabetic reaction on the trip. I had to go search for Mike. I made plans with the kids. I told them I would search for Mike. If I wasn’t back in two hours they were to canoe down the shore to another campsite we’d passed earlier and get help.
I donned my rain poncho, grabbed my map, compass and GPS, and headed out to the area where we’d last seen Mike.
Leaving the trail and heading into deep brush, I searched and searched, and shouted until I was hoarse. No Mike. I just couldn’t find him. Finally, dejected and knowing my two hours were nearly gone, I gave up and headed back to the kids.
But I had also gotten turned around. I didn’t know which direction our campsite was or even where I was. So I powered on the GPS and it lead me back to the campsite.
Just about then, far down the lake shore, we heard a distant shout. It was Mike! We went by canoe and picked him up. Sheepishly he explained what happened. He’d gone off by himself to the top of a ridge to check things out – after all, he was very experienced – and got turned around and wandered down the other side of the ridge to another lake – away from us.
On the other hand, I had my GPS. Even though I too got lost, it pointed me back to our campsite home and safety.
Let me ask you – are you going off on your own direction instead using Holy GPS – seeking God and looking into His Word to get directions to where He wants you go?
Abraham trusted in Holy GPS.
Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
Abraham had learned to put his total trust in God’s ability to lead him to his promised home. He left his home, family and everything that this world had to offer to go in search of a vague promise of God. He didn’t know where he was going, but he knew that when he arrived, God would be there and it would be a great place to be.
Do you have that attitude? Are your sights set on Heaven? Are you using Holy GPS? Check yourself and make sure that you going God’s way.
Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”
Our culture has a way of interfering with Holy GPS and drawing you off to the side where you will face destruction. You wander off and get lost in danger, just like Mike did. God’s ways are not the ways of our culture. He will lead us into paths of righteousness and holiness. God’s Holy GPS plan is to lead us all the way home, and when this life is over, our faith will be rewarded.
Are you on the right track to Heaven? Make sure that you are. Follow Jesus Christ today and serve him all the days of your life.
—
Rick Frederickson, Pastor
