Anyone who has ever used GPS understands what rerouting means. It means you’ve missed the turn they told you to take and now you’re being rerouted to get back on the right track. If you’re in a town it could be as simple as going around the block to turn around. But in rural areas you may travel awhile before you find the new route.

Rerouting will still get you to your destination, but it might take a lot longer than expected. One time GPS took us two hours out of the way and we missed half of the event we were going to.

The longest GPS rerouting I’ve ever heard about took 40 years. God’s GPS system was the clearest one ever seen. After the Lord delivered Israel out of slavery in Egypt, He showed them how He would lead them. During the day a pillar of cloud went before them. When the cloud moved, they followed. When the cloud stopped, they stopped. 

At night the pillar of cloud turned into a pillar of fire to light their way. So the Israelites were able to travel both by day and by night, as long as they followed this supernatural pillar of God’s directions. 

We have no problem doing exactly what GPS tells us to do. The times we get off track are when we misunderstand the directions or don’t see the next road they tell us to turn onto in time. But we trust that the GPS will get us to where we need to be, and we listen and obey.

Why do we have more trouble obeying God’s instructions and directions to us than the GPS? The Israelites ran into this problem on their journey through the desert. A trip that should have taken less than two weeks ended up taking forty years because of their disobedience and unbelief. Many did not make it into the Promised Land at all.

On a recent trip through the Ohio Amish country, I was delighted when the GPS took us off of the main routes and through the beautiful rolling hills of farmland. One thing I noticed as we sometimes missed the little roads it wanted us to turn onto was GPS’s inability to just say, “You’re going the wrong way. Turn around.”

So instead of just making a U-turn or turning around in a driveway or parking lot to immediately get back on track, we would be rerouted in an entirely different way that sometimes took a lot longer. Finally we decided when we’d missed roads to just turn around on our own.

God’s GPS doesn’t work like that. God can make it very clear to us when we are heading in the wrong direction, away from Him, and we need to turn around. He has given us a simple way to get back on track that doesn’t have to take forty years.

God offers us forgiveness of sin. As He convicts us of our wrong turns, giving into temptation, disobeying His best for us, doubting His love and faithfulness, He gives us the opportunity to repent of our sin and ask His forgiveness.

I John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us. Then we can turn back to Him and continue on the route that He has for us, for His plans for us are best.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 845-482-5300.