ON A CLEAR DAY

On a clear day, you can see forever…

Great song lyric, great sentiment.

But, life isn't a "clear day" too often, is it?

Most often, it's cloudy with a chance of showers. It's an incoming storm front. It's a gray layer of stratus clouds (impressed with my science knowledge??) that blocks the sun.

Things are most often anything but clear.

And there's the rub, right?

We humans are kinda hard-wired to want certainty, security, and control. We want to know what's coming next, where we're headed, what to expect and when to expect it…

We like clarity.

We don't just want life to unfold – we want to unfold it – in neat little wrapped up packages – packages that once opened, make sense.

This is the challenge for all of us – but it's especially a challenge for the believer.

We think because we know the Master Unfolder, we sorta expect to understand everything about the packages. We kinda think (at least I do) that we have a "right" to insider information. Shouldn't we know what God is up to? I mean, we're following Him, right?

Would it hurt Him to share a little of that omniscience stuff that He has? Could it be a big deal to give us a just a little portion of His foreknowledge?

I was thinking about this – (read: whining and struggling) – and I thought about something I was talking to my son about…

My youngest son loves sailing. In fact, he and his brother and dad just bought an old sailboat. They're going to fix it up, and sail the seven seas – (I'm hoping it's just going to be the Pacific Ocean, by the way – and I hope the sea-sailing isn't too far from shore, just sayin'…)

He's telling me all about the sails and the engine and the equipment – all the technical and mechanical "stuff"of boats.

I'm asking him about the navigation system.

Because, you see, my priority is their safety.

I know that the one thing they want to do is sail to Catalina Island – about 26 miles away – and I'm worried about them getting lost.

"So, son, what happens if it's all cloudy and stormy and overcast, and you can't see Catalina? How do you get there? How do you know where you’re going?"

Son #2 laughs at my non-sailor naivety. I can hear his internal voice saying, "She's such a land-lubber…"

"Mom. You don't navigate by what you can see. You steer your course by trusting the compass."

Ding, ding, ding –

Ship's bells are ringing in my head. (Just so you know, three bells would signify 1½ hours into a 4-hour watch…impressed?)

What a spiritual lesson here!

If I could "see" my destination, if life was just one clear day after another, I wouldn't have to rely on anything or anyone else to guide me. But, because I can't see ahead, and life is usually a cloudy mess, I have to rely on the compass…

The Compass – the Lord.

Study His Word and set your course on His direction – make your destination the shores of eternity in His Presence – and then, trust The Compass.

He'll guide you through the cloudy days with showers, through the storm fronts, through the days when you can't see the sun shine…

He'll guide you when you can't see where you're headed.

He's got it covered – trust The Compass – He'll never steer you wrong.

Dear Lord, how often we try to steer our lives in our own directions. And that’s when we get lost. Teach us to not rely on what we can see with our own eyes or understand with our own wisdom. Enable us to let go of our control, and to trust You – our Compass who guides us safely to our destination. For You are the only Instrument that never changes, and Your Word is the only true course. Make Your will abundantly apparent in our lives…

Lord, be clear – and be close when you're not clear.

Here, take the helm of my life…

BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"