One of the greatest joys I had when I was an instructor at Moody Aviation was having my students come to our home for an evening of food and fellowship. Without exception, we found each of them had a fascinating story to tell and many unique qualities to respect! Nevertheless, getting them to find our house in the country was a continual challenge! Therefore, I made a map showing them how to get to our home and distributed it to my students as needed.

    However, since the way to our house involved lots of narrow, winding roads, and my map was crude at best, some students would get lost along the way. In the end, I found the most effective way to get them to our place was to meet them at the airport and say, “Follow me!” While giving them a map was much easier for me, allowing them to follow me was much easier for them. Sometimes my students would get lost following my map, yet not one of them ever got lost following me!

    I wonder if God doesn’t give us too many detailed instructions for our lives because He knows how easy it is for us to get lost following a map. Yes, we have God’s Word to give us general directions, but so many personal details aren’t given in there. And while He certainly could make a way to give us a more detailed map for our lives, He has taken the more helpful approach by simply saying, “Follow Me!”

    Moment by moment, decision by decision, day by day, season by season, we are expected to follow His heavenly GPS signals. “Go straight, turn left, turn right. Speed up, slow down. Avoid that pothole, watch out for that drop-off, beware of that other car!” And we certainly don’t want to hear that dreaded GPS announcement, “Recalculating” that indicated we missed a turn! So we listen carefully to our Mapmaker and Master, and we obey Him without question or delay. It’s the best plan, it’s God’s plan.

    When we make our own plans, or when we follow someone else’s map, we are destined to get lost. Even so, some people encourage us to follow our hearts. Yet the Bible says our heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, and who can know it? Others tell us to follow the crowd since the majority must have it right. But Jesus said the gate is wide and the road is broad, and the majority will follow the path of least resistance, even though it leads to their eventual destruction.

    We must walk by faith in Jesus! When we do, we will not only make it to our final destination, we will please God every step of the way! Jesus said He is the Way, the only Way: through the maze of this life, and to the bliss of eternal life. We don’t need a detailed map for our life. Our Mapmaker simply says, “Follow Me!”