Don't Turn Off The GPS!

My destination was one light, one u-turn away. I could see the building and it was  just a stone’s throw away. 
I turned off my GPS; after all, I could see the destination. I’ve got this.

The light turned green and I made my u-turn.  I looked for the entrance but figured it must be just off this ramp that went around to the left side of the building…
That ramp, however, was the entrance to a superhighway that took me south another 9 miles before I could even turn around! It was too late to back out. The extra 25 minutes I had just added to my trip allowed me for some reflection time.
Twenty-five minutes…to reach a destination that I would have been able to literally walk to in 30 seconds….

Where did I go wrong?
*was it the U-turn?
*was it entering the ramp?

I knew. I went wrong when I turned OFF my GPS. I had placed my confidence in my own ability to take control. I was convinced that what I could see with my own eyes…must be reality. “I can take it from here!” “I’ve got this!”
As I sped down the highway, taking the “scenic view” , the Holy Spirit quietly reminded me that in life, He is the “GPS” that guides me and that I should never turn Him off, even when I am convinced I know where I am going.

As a believer in Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God lives within me. He guides me into all truth.
John 16:13
3 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

The Holy Spirit guides me away from sin.
Galatians 5:16
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
The Holy Spirit guides me to know the will of God for my life.
Psalm 143:10
Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
    lead me on level ground.

What IS my destination in life? I would say that where I want to end up, is heaven. I can’t see it with my own eyes but I know it is there for me when I breathe my last breath here on earth. Until I step foot into glory with Jesus…I need to keep myself in step with the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:25 urges me with this, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
In Step. Not running ahead. Not lagging behind and certainly not getting sidetracked on a ramp to nowhere of consequence!

In step.

The Holy Spirit says step this direction…and I choose to step that direction.

He leads me to reach out to someone, and I do.

He leads me to slow down my pace and rest, and I do.

He leads me to give generously when I have just enough for me…and I do.

He challenges me to sign up to serve in an area I don’t feel strong in, and I do.

In Step. Watching and listening to whatever He tells me to do.

He is the GPS to my life and I am never to turn Him off.

Getting out of step with the Holy Spirit is like turning off the GPS and taking matters in my own hands; I am relying on my own understanding. There are always consequences when I do that. I miss out on the lessons, the blessings and the protection of the Lord when I control the steps.

So here I found myself again, 25 minutes later, sitting at the same light. I kept the GPS on this time.  It did not tell me to make a U-turn but rather a left turn.  I followed the directions this time and in fact, the entrance to the building was actually quite circuitous.

God has a sense of humor. Literally, as I entered the parking lot, I thought about turning off the GPS and and the Holy Spirit said clearly, “NO”. “Not until you reach your destination.” In another 30 feet I saw that the main parking lot was blocked off with barriers due to a water pipe break! I had to park in the back of the building.

I turned the car off first…then, and only then, did the GPS get shut down.

Father, I hear you loud and clear.

Until I reach my final destination of heaven, I will keep IN STEP with your Holy Spirit.
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In Step. Not ahead of you. Not lagging behind. No ramps.