Which Road Do I Take?

I am quite a fan of the Maps feature on my iPhone. I use it all the time to get where I’m going if I’m not sure of the best route to take. I have become way to dependent upon this. I can remember a time when I had a map of the area and I was able to understand where I was and where I wanted to go. That reminded me of a funny story that happened to me in Mexico on a mission trip. I was a lot younger then and for some reason I thought if you added “o” to about any word in English, the Spanish speaking people would understand. I wanted a map to understand the proximity of where I was in the city. I went into a story and asked for a “Mappo”. The older Mexican gentleman looked at me like I was speaking Russian. So I did what most people do, I slowed down and raised my voice and said the same thing again. The guys who were with me were on the floor laughing. I’m not sure who rescued me from this fiasco, but I did end up purchasing a map of the city. I do like knowing where I am and where I’m going next. By the way, the correct spelling is “Mappa”! (It makes a big difference how your pronounce the ending of the word!)

There was a young man from the tribe of Benjamin and he had lost his donkeys so he and his servant set out to find them. They searched all over the place for a few days. They could not find the donkeys and they were about to turn back and go home because the young man, named Saul was afraid his Dad would now be worried about his well-being more than the donkeys missing. Check this out…

5 When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.”

6 And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.” (1 Samuel 9:5-6 NIV)

Saul had no idea what Samuel, the prophet and judge of Israel was about to tell him. This young man’s life was about to change in a big way. He was chosen by the Lord to become the first King of Israel and he has no idea.

As I read this passage, I realized that IF I will ask the Lord which road to take, He will lead me and direct my path. I think it was Yogi Berra who said, “When you come to the fork in the road, take it.” Even though Saul and his servant were looking for donkeys, Samuel was looking for Saul to lead. There have been many times when a decision was facing me and I wasn’t sure of the right decision. I have felt the Lord’s hand on me nudging me in a certain direction, especially if I take the time to lay it before Him. I trust Him with the direction of my life and whatever road it takes me to get there.

Pressing On!

Dwayne