God and a Garmin?

I call my blog “Journey to Worship” because I have learned that worship is as much a destination as it is an action. And that’s not just the former worship leader talking here! Life has a way of taking you down roads you never thought you would see and challenging your beliefs almost every step of the way.

It’s been four months since I moved my family of 6 in with my parents after our house sold somewhat suddenly. Don’t get me wrong, selling was part of the plan. But doubling the capacity of the home I grew up in was not…kind of like being “homeless” in my early 40’s. And the experience of starting over after finding – and leaving – the house we wanted (thus extending our stay indefinitely) has certainly been in the “road less traveled” category.

Think about driving down a winding country road that goes over mountains, through valleys, and around (not over!) streams. It takes a long time to get where you’re going, and there are points along the road where you are convinced you’re going the wrong way – despite what your electronic navigator tells you. Well, that’s exactly where life can take you sometimes. And, without drawing the obvious, cheesy parallel between God and a Garmin, that’s when we need to do what can be very hard for us humans to do: We need to get direction!

The passage of scripture I could consider my life verse is the first two verses of Romans chapter 12, which says in part: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” God must direct our paths, and that means giving up control of our life. We have all sorts of questions right now about where God wants us to live and when He’s going to tell us. But our act of worship – our destination, if you will – is to be in the place where He can direct us.

In the meantime, I’m getting a new appreciation for Jesus’ response to those who said they would follow Him wherever He goes: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Luke 9: 58)