Psalm 16:11. God is Our GPS for Life

Recently, I was driving to the office and because I had a meeting, I needed to be there at a certain time and didn’t want to get caught in the rush hour traffic hang-ups so I was using the GPS app on my phone. WAZE is a great interactive app that allows you to put in where there are traffic problems and the app will route you around them. More than once this app has saved me from kids being late for school or me being late for a meeting. Not to mention that I oversee eight different counting in the northeast region of Florida, so I use this app frequently. However, on this day the app kept saying, “searching for network” across the top of the screen. Thankfully, I have a personal phone and a work phone by two different cell service providers and my personal phone had no problems finding the network.

Have you ever been trying to figure out the path you need to take in your life and you feel like your life app is out there “searching for network?” Do I need to take that new job? Do I need to purchase a piece of property? Do I need to move to that state? Do I need to go back to college? Do I need to participate in that investment? Do I need to hire that employee? Do I need to join this church? Do I need to be involved in that community service project? Do I need get involved in foster care or adoption?

Thankfully, we don’t have to depend on an app to know the path we need to take. God is our GPS (God’s Path Search) when searching for our life’s path. Psalm 16:11 says, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

We can take such questions to God and pray about them, search His word, listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as they whisper across our heart, ask some mature trusted friend/family to pray about it with us and then look for how God prompts in our everyday life. It might be through a song on a radio or something the pastor says in his sermon this Sunday or even a statement from a coworker, family member or friend that speaks exactly to what we’re praying about as we try to make the decisions for our life path.  When we take these questions to God, He will show us the path of life. It’s a promise in His Word, so we can have confidence that He will show us.

Even when we travel the path that He wants us on, it doesn’t mean that everything is Disney style and “Happy ever after.” Sometimes those paths are difficult, uphill climbing with lots of loose tumbling rocks trying to make us slide down a slippery slope. God uses such paths to help us grow in our faith, learn to trust Him more and bring us ever closer to Him. However, no matter how much turbulence there is, if we are in His presence, we can find joy. Joy in knowing we’re doing what He wants us to do. Joy in knowing that as we’re taking that path, we’re bringing His presence with us. It doesn’t matter if friends or family believe in the path He’s leading you on or if they think you’re crazy and wonder how on earth He would choose you of all people for this path. The cost of the path doesn’t matter. The scariness doesn’t matter. Once you step out in faith and plant both feet firmly on the path, you’ll find His presence there waiting to walk the path with you and there is no better joy than knowing your walking life’s path with God…but not just joy…there is fullness of joy.

When we obediently walk with God, we proclaim to the world that we love Him more than the opinions of other, more than choosing the difficult way, more than taking the easy way. We show that world that we love Him most. As we do, we bring glory to Him. Enoch knew this. The Bible says, “He walked with God and was not: for God took him.”(Genesis 5:24). Enoch never died. He walked faithfully in obedience to God and was so close to Him, that God just one day took him to heaven. In Hebrews 11:5, Paul wrote that Enoch was “commended as having pleased God.”

No matter how difficult the path, when we know we are walking in obedience, we know we are on the safest path possible. In Psalm 23, the Bible says, “Yea though I will through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” In Proverbs 3:23, we read, “Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.” There is joy in knowing, He will keep our path safe and secure.

Friends who walk together find joy in sharing secrets and talking about their day to day lives and their plans for the future. Noah walked with God and God told him he was going to destroy the world. The people mocked him and made fun of him, but Noah’s family was the only ones saved. Abraham walked with God and learned God would make a great nation from Abraham’s decedents. Knowing and believing God’s promise allowed him to offer his only son whom God had said would be the son to make this great nation as a sacrifice when God tested him. As we spend time with God, walking in obedience with Him, He reveals himself to us. There is joy when we feel the presence of God.

God show us the path of life. As we obediently step out in faith and walk with Him on that path, we find joy in his presence. The last part of Psalm 16:11 says, “At your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” I can think of no greater joy or pleasure than standing before God at the end of this life to hear Him say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” To know that regardless of the difficulties God found that I followed Him in faithful obedience for the path of life He chose for me then to spend all of eternity worshiping Him.

What about you? What difficult path is God asking of you? Go ahead and plant both feet firmly on that path. He’s holding out His hand to you, asking you to join him. Will you obey and find the path of unshakeable fullness of joy?