Searching or Going in Circles

“Going in circles,” does this describe how you feel sometimes trying to get through a busy, maybe hectic day?

Men, when traveling, have the reputation for refusing to ask for directions. Probably, it is because we do not like to admit that we do not know something. Several years ago, before GPS, my wife and I were traveling from Noel, Mo. To Milwaukee, Wis. To visit my brother and wife. This trip took us through St. Louis, Mo. At St. Louis I took a wrong exit which took us downtown at 5:00 in the afternoon. Busy time. I paid toll crossing the same bridge at least three times. I was “going in circles.” Finally, I stopped at a gas station for directions. As the attendant was showing me on the map where I was and how to get where I needed to be, we were interrupted by a man on his way to Chicago.  He knew the general area there in St. Louis but was just turned around. The attendant named off one street and he said, “Yeah, I know where that is, I know where I am now.”  I asked him if I could follow him, because Chicago was on my route also.

God has promised to give you direction in life if you will take time to ask. “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.”  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

God is not trying to hide His plans from you when you ask Him for directions, whether it is coping with daily activities or trying to understand His larger vision for your life. He will give you the guidance you request.

Charles Swindoll in one of his devotions, “Being Real,” shares the story of Dave Cowens, a one-time star basketball center for the Boston Celtics.  “He disappeared without warning, and drove away, alone.  He kept driving to...somewhere. Later, his only explanation was the familiar comment, ‘I need to get my head together.’  He added that it could take as little as two weeks or as much as ten years.  The sportscasters, management, team, spectators, and fans couldn’t imagine what he was looking for.”

Perhaps he was lacking a sense of purpose and fulfillment. To “find yourself” requires that you take time to look. It is essential to look in the right place. God uses His Word to give direction to one who is searching to find purpose and fulfillment. We look at Christ Jesus to see God’s purpose in everything. God’s plan has been to make you like His Son, Jesus. This is your destiny and the purpose of your life.

You can search for God’s plan for you or you can go in circles following your own plan.