"When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way." (Psalm 142:3 NIV)
"When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn." (Psalm 142:3 NLT)
I am an old mom with a new driver. This means that when my 16-year-old drives some place that's unfamiliar to her, I want to give her step-by-step directions with helpful guiding points like, "Then you'll go through that little town where I once got a speeding ticket, so be sure to drop down to 45 when you go past that one church that's made of tan bricks."
G = Does it glorify God? Does the road I'm thinking of turning down show who God is? Does it turn my attention and the attention of others to Him? Does it reflect His character and nature and power?
P = Does it position me for peace? Note that this is not the same thing as ease. The way I'm considering going might very well be steep and rocky and hard. But when I think about taking that way, does my spirit respond with reassurance? Do I sense God's green light going forward, or are warning lights flashing? Peace is a big priority with God, so He's not likely to give me the go-ahead on something that robs me of it.
S = Does Scripture support it? God's Word is the original road map. If I'm trying to go down a road that Scripture clearly blocks off, I need to consider what I think I'm going to gain from that...and what I'm likely to lose.
I like atlases and physical maps and my state county-by-county gazetteer.
My new driver, on the other hand, likes to put her destination into the map feature on her phone and let talking direction lady tell her what to do and where to go.
I don't trust talking direction lady. She doesn't really know where my daughter is. She doesn't really know her exact way. She knows a general way. She might know where my daughter's phone is and be able to plug it into a preset bank of information and spit out some advice, but she does not know my daughter. She doesn't actually see her.
My new driver, on the other hand, likes to put her destination into the map feature on her phone and let talking direction lady tell her what to do and where to go.
I don't trust talking direction lady. She doesn't really know where my daughter is. She doesn't really know her exact way. She knows a general way. She might know where my daughter's phone is and be able to plug it into a preset bank of information and spit out some advice, but she does not know my daughter. She doesn't actually see her.
God, on the other hand, knows my daughter's way. He knows my way. He knows your way. He is infallible and utterly reliable. He is never confused about the way we should go. But sometimes, figuring that out for ourselves—absent a pillar of fire as guided the children of Israel en route to the Promised Land or something similar—can be murky.
In this case, it can be useful to turn on some GPS to determine if the way we're thinking of going is a way that's good to go.
G = Does it glorify God? Does the road I'm thinking of turning down show who God is? Does it turn my attention and the attention of others to Him? Does it reflect His character and nature and power?
P = Does it position me for peace? Note that this is not the same thing as ease. The way I'm considering going might very well be steep and rocky and hard. But when I think about taking that way, does my spirit respond with reassurance? Do I sense God's green light going forward, or are warning lights flashing? Peace is a big priority with God, so He's not likely to give me the go-ahead on something that robs me of it.
S = Does Scripture support it? God's Word is the original road map. If I'm trying to go down a road that Scripture clearly blocks off, I need to consider what I think I'm going to gain from that...and what I'm likely to lose.
God not only knows the way we are taking, He knows the way we should take. And it is always the way that will lead us home to Him.
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!