My husband and I recently did a long cross-country drive for a vacation. Our route took us through large cities, across the Midwest on the interstate highways, and on a lot of small, winding mountain roads. We really depended on the GPS directions from our mapping application.

It occurred to me that God provides directions to help us navigate through our lives. He knows the best route for us to take, both in general and in any specific circumstances that we face. We would do well to depend on Him in the same way we depend on GPS for driving.

Here are some God-to-GPS parallels — and a couple of contrasts — that I offer for your consideration.

We don’t need the entire picture, just the one next step to take.

One memorable drive was about 45 minutes up a mountain road in the dark. I was watching the GPS screen to help my husband navigate all the twists and turns. I could warn him that the next turn was a tight hairpin, or that the current one was not sharp but would keep on curving longer than expected. We were both relieved when that drive reached its destination!

Parallel: God knows that we would be overwhelmed if He told us in advance about every twist and turn our lives would take. We need only to know the NEXT step He wants of us.

When Jesus called His disciples, He simply asked them to “Follow me”. He didn’t say “First, we’ll travel around healing the sick. Then we’ll make the Pharisees angry enough to even work with Rome to get me killed. Then I’ll come back to life, but will ascend to Heaven, leaving you to build My church. Finally, you will all be killed also, but will return with me in glory at the end of time.”

All of that was true, and He knew it all along. But the disciples were not ready to hear it all on the first day they followed Him. He only gave them the information that they needed and were able to deal with at the time ¹.

Contrast: I do read ahead on the GPS turn-by-turn directions, and look at the overall map with its point-to-point route overview. I want to be sure that I know exactly where we’re going. I don’t completely trust the GPS until I agree with its route.

I sometimes try to behave like that with God, but it doesn’t work. That’s OK: He is more trustworthy, and His route is always perfect.

When we get off course, God steers us back.

The app would go crazy whenever we pulled off temporarily for gas or food. It would frantically give directions to get us back onto the original route. It was determined to keep us on the right path.

Parallel: God repeatedly urges His people to repent and turn back to Him whenever they get off course: “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)

God doesn’t always direct the way we want Him to, because He knows better.

There were times when we disagreed with the GPS app. We would look at a paper map, and think that we saw a better route. When we checked with someone local, though, they would be able to tell us why the app had chosen the route it did. For instance, one option that we thought we liked turned out to be a road that is only open seasonally; it can’t be used in winter.

Parallel: God often sends us on a completely different route than the one we would choose on our own.

He sends us through hardship, or delays and detours, or unexpected crossroads. But He always has our best destination in mind. His route teaches us things we need to know, or introduces us to people who will be important to our life, or shows us more of His power and glory. We may not understand at the time, but we can look back and see benefits that would not have been possible on our original choice of route.

There are always trade-offs. God balances all of the factors involved to guide us to the best outcome.

Sometimes the app would give preference to the interstate because its settings were for the fastest route, and it would bypass the scenic road we wanted. Or we asked it to avoid toll roads, and ended up going miles out of our way. There was no way the app could give us everything we wanted: fast, scenic, no tolls, easy driving avoiding all traffic jams and road construction. Life just isn’t that simple.

Parallel: God also balances all the factors involved in guiding us to be the person He designed, fitting into our perfect spot in His overall plan for His kingdom. He doesn’t direct us into any difficult or unexpected situation that doesn’t have a good purpose.

There is one major contrast: Who chooses the destination.

On our vacation drive, we decided where we wanted to go. We knew in advance where we planned to end up. The GPS was a tool to help us do what we wanted.

In life, God is the one choosing the destination. He is not a tool helping us get our own way. He has a plan in mind for our lives, before those lives even begin (Psalm 139:16, Jeremiah 1:5). He is sovereign; we are not.

Trying to choose our own destination puts a barrier between us and keeps us from experiencing the full life that God intends. That barrier is called sin; Jesus came, died, and rose again to break through the barrier. When we accept that gift, our destination becomes Heaven.

Every twist and turn of our lives, when following His directions, leads us closer to the beautiful destination He has planned: Infinite life with Him!

1. There is a song that says this nicely: “Lord, help me today, show me the way, One Day at a Time“.