How to Gps Your Faith When You Don’t Know the Right Direction

Chase after all that is pure. Whatever builds up your faith and deepens your love must become your holy pursuit.

2 Timothy 2:22b TPT

You know you don’t have an instinctive compass when your husband says you should take a left if you’re sure you need to turn right (and he’s on point). Or when you’d get lost in a tangle of freeways in Dayton, OH if you missed one turn on your printed MapQuest directions back in grad school. Or if you once forgot which downtown parking garage you used for your friend’s sister’s wedding and the dad of the bride had to help you out—and then you finally made it back to campus only to discover you’d dropped your apartment key somewhere along the way. Let’s just say I know a thing or two about getting lost.

Wouldn’t it be lovely to sit at a coffee house together, sharing all our getting-lost stories, and silently belly laughing?

Maybe you rely on GPS as heavily as I do. And you have stories you can laugh about now.

But the truth is that getting off-course is often not funny in the moment.

You feel unsettled when you’re not sure what turn to take next.

Anxious if you’re now going to be later than late.

Tense when the onslaught of traffic forces you to make quick decisions.

But what happens when our life, not just our vehicle, gets off track? When we’re wrapped up in so much busy we can’t see what matters most anymore? When we’re walking through our life on autopilot and can’t peg when we stopped paying attention? When discouragement and discontentment creep into our voices, sag our shoulders, dead-weight our feet?

You might read 2 Timothy 2:22 and feel even more tired. More useless. More lost.

Chase after what is pure? Build my faith? Deepen my love?

Your mind wants to begin comparing, prodding your weaknesses, reminding you of how you’ve messed it up.

But let’s stop right here, because God’s not comparing you to the next person, He’s asking for your heart. Focusing His attention on you. Answering questions you didn’t realize you were asking.

Do I matter?

Am I good enough?

Am I loved?

The thing is that searching for significance within us will always leave us lacking. Trying to better ourselves by ourselves will never fix our problems. We need to know the right direction to travel when it comes to our faith, just like we do when we’re driving.

Is there a GSP for faith?

If I don’t know exactly where I’m going, I drive slow—like you really don’t want to drive behind me kind of slow. So if I’m to “chase after all that’s pure,” I want to wrap my head around what that means. Thankfully, God didn’t leave us on our own when it comes to figuring out what’s pure—what’s worth chasing:

Every Scripture has been inspired by the Holy Spirit, the breath of God. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness.

2 Timothy 3:16 TPT

This little blue Bible that bears the pen marks, the finger tracing, the worship-filled margins is not just a book, it’s the very breath of Yah-weh. It’s His life flowing through words into my heart. It’s a strength-giver and it’s the Direction Giver Himself.

It’s cyclical, I’ve found. You spend time in God’s Word, you hunger for more of Him. You draw close to God, you find yourself drawn into the Word.

And the more you learn God’s ways, His words, His heartbeat, the more you begin to fall in sync. It doesn’t happen overnight, and most times you don’t even notice how your faith is growing, but little by little, you learn to follow God’s clues and let Him lead you in the right direction.

Trusting the GSP

The thing about following directions is we have to know we can trust the GPS voice. This is key for driving, but it also helps me approach Scripture with a heart soft and seeking to understand.

Beginning with the steady belief that God’s heart is good points me to curiosity when I read a verse that seems confusing or contradictory. I make no assumptions except that I know far, far less than God. I look for the larger story when one sliver doesn’t make sense.

But maybe today you have a whole lot of questions that stand in the way of trusting God’s heart for you is good. You’ve been hurt by people in the church—people who claimed to be following God’s will—but you’re pretty sure they had it backward. Or you’ve tried to hear God’s voice for yourself, but you’re hung up on all the things that seem to fall in a gray area.

Perhaps you need practical answers for questions like What do I say to my friend who moved in with her boyfriend? How do I love my homosexual friends? How can I get along with my neighbor who doesn’t vote for the same political party?

I recently read an early copy of Brittany Ann’s (founder of Equipping Godly Women) newest book, Follow God’s Will **, and I’ve been dying to tell you about it because it’s the best book I’ve read on how to discern and practically follow God’s voice. Brittany guides you through how to find the answers you’ve been looking for in Scripture, and how to make sense of what the Bible is actually saying. She doesn’t offer easy answers, but instead coaches you on how to hear God’s voice for yourself. What an incredible resource as we seek to love God and the people near us deeply!

You can read more of my thoughts on Follow God’s Will here—and if you’re reading this between 10/4 and 10/11, please enter the giveaway for your chance to win a free copy!

May I pray for you?

Today, my weary friend, I pray for strength to “chase after all that’s pure.” All that is pure leads us to experience more of God because only what reflects God and His great big, wonderful heart can be pure.

I pray for increased curiosity and a desire to know and understand God’s heart. I pray that you see how very, very much He loves you. And I pray that you can trust Him and His Word as the Master GPS.

Just a friend over here in your corner,

** Book mentions contain my affiliate link.

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