Beating Your ETA

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Have you ever put your destination into GPS and seen the ETA... as a challenge? Maybe it's just me (I know it's not just me), but when I see my device tell me it will take 1hr 32 min to get somewhere, I (for some unknown reason) challenge myself to get there five minutes under that arrival time. Now, when I accept this unsolicited challenge, I don't necessarily plan out how I am going to beat the clock. I also don't give much thought to the cost-benefit analysis, with consideration to what might happen in my attempt to "get there faster." I mindlessly start a journey, that is already pre-planned for me, with the intention of getting there "my way.

The way we travel to places geographically might also be a reflection of how we walk with God.

We are going to map out (see what I did there) what happens when we trying to overdrive our pace while pursuing our purpose. The things we sacrifice, trying to arrive at our destinations "sooner" are also risks we take trying to arrive to our purpose. outside of God's time. There is nothing wrong with the challenge, but what does it take to achieve it?

What would it cost to get there sooner?

If we already new all the critical information we needed to know to get to our destination, we wouldn't need to look up the address in GPS. Actually if there was another way to sense - internally - how to travel to unknown places, the GPS and all maps would never needed to be invented. (That felt grammatically wrong... but you get what I'm saying). With that being said, there were hundreds and thousands of people who put in thought, created processes, invented the technology, then later continuously updated that data so we could strategically plan our travels. And yet, we turn a resource into an inspiration for insubordination.

We do this with God, too.

Now... I'm not completely aloof to the stress and struggles of walking by faith. God gives us much less details on our walk than the turn-by-turn directions given by Google Maps.

What's the one thing we all do to get somewhere faster?

Speed.

Something our GPS takes into great consideration when calculating our ETA is the speed limit. Somehow it knows when we have to go 35mph on a rural road and when we will have to ramp it up on the interstate. Even though we may not know when looking over our route, it does. It was already taken into consideration. But what do we do? Let's be honest, but not too careless, we go faster than the limit permits. What do we chance when doing this? A lot.

I've done a lot of speeding in my day. Most when I was younger, and not as wise as I am now. :) One thing that helped me learn not to go so fast on the road was, you guessed it, getting a ticket.. or two.. or... Who's counting anyway? The crazy thing about getting a ticket, is the time it takes getting pulled over. By the time I'd been stopped, found my license and registration, had my plates run, tried to talk my way out of it, and got the ticket, ten or fifteen minutes had gone by. Time that could have been spent on the road, doing the speed limit, and going farther than the time I then had to make up.

This happens when we try to rush to the plans God has for us. Now, the time it takes to achieve our goals are not given actual limits. Nor does God give us the opportunity to see when milestones are set to happen. But just as our car has a speedometer, to tell us how fast we are going. We were given the Holy Spirit. Others may call it a "gut feeling," "intuition," or "that little voice inside." But let's call a spade a spade, that "little voice" telling you when something doesn't feel right, is the guide left to us from Jesus thousands of years ago. The same way we have road signs and speed limit postings guiding us as we travel, we have God letting us know when we are moving at a pace He set.

Just like with speeding, ignoring the Holy Spirit may momentarily make you feel like you are getting where you want to be faster. But, think about this.. when we speed, we are doing something illegal. We aren't protected by the law, because we have broken it. Making moves in our lives, in efforts to get what we want without waiting on God, removes us from His Will. Have you ever noticed you have to speed for a long period of time to shave just one minute off of your ETA? You have to continue speeding to make significant impact on your arrival time. Meaning, you have to continue breaking the law. The same applies to moving outside of God's Will. And what we get without God, we have to keep without Him. Is that worth it?

God doesn't move on our time. He won't shift His plans for us because it's "inconvenient" for us to wait on Him. Think back on a time you had to wait on God for you to have something you wanted. Although it may have seemed like forever to reach it, wasn't it worth the wait?

Something else we do, when trying to arrive early...

Turn from the planned path.

Have you ever followed your GPS to a place you'd been to before, and for some reason it made you turn outside of your normal direction? "Turn left..." when you know you're supposed to turn right? You turn right, and then something crazy happens. Your ETA updates, adding seven minutes to your arrival time. Or maybe you made that right and ended up in a construction zone, adding an hour or more to your travel. Even though you have taken this route multiple times, there may come a day when you have to take an alternative route to get where you want to go.

A Bible verse I always have to lean on when God turns left, after I could've sworn I was supposed to go right is Proverbs 3:5-6. "Trust in the Lord with all your heard and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight."

The path laid for us to be where or who we were called may not be as simple as we thought. Where others, or maybe in our own pasts, the road might have been straight and easy. But there are always things God sees that we do not. The plan God has for us might not be the way we thought, but it is a way He thought out. Think about Moses, when he lead the Jews from the Egyptians. They traveled through the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. There was a more direct path to where they were going, but had they taken that route they would have been in the middle of a battle they were not equipped to fight. Think about that any time you feel an unction in your Spirit that does not make sense with what you see, feel, or think. The path may be unorthodox, but it was prepared for you. Where we are sent, we are covered. It doesn't make the path "easy" but it does give us protection along the way.

Would you rather follow your instincts into battle, or follow His Spirit into your purpose?

Of course, the answer is easy but the action is not. I get it. But it is worth it.

Am I the only person who gets frustrated when I'm in a rush and have to deal with other people on the road?

The same way we get road rage on the highway, we can get careless with our interactions with others as we try to follow our purpose.

It would be great if God created a path where we could just focus on Him and not be bothered with people. Trust me, I get it. We're trying to go one place and the crazies around us seem to have no clue what they are doing alongside us. But guess what? We are "those crazies" to someone else following their path, too. When I feel myself getting upset with other drivers, I try to keep in mind they are trying to get somewhere just like I am. Some are a little more cautious - driving slower. Others more haphazardly - going faster or taking chances while driving I wouldn't risk my life doing. Some are distracted - on their phones or also following GPS.

Regardless of what is going on around you, others cannot be allowed to affect your actions. The same goes for our walk with Christ. People exist. There's literally no way around it. But they are people who are also trying their best (hopefully) to do what needs to be done on their journey. Getting frustrated with other people only slows us down on the path set for us. A path that was planned with those people in mind. That 1hr and 32min to get to our destination took that 17min traffic jam into consideration. I'll be real with you...

I tried and tried. I really thought I could, but I can't. I can't align the lessons we learn dealing with people spiritually with the cars we are stuck next to in traffic. What I can relate is when we are stuck in traffic, GPS will often give an alternative route to get out of the traffic, by giving you a longer route to your destination. One time, driving from Little Rock, AR to St. Louis, MO my only two options was a five and a half hour drive of a more direct route with traffic, compared to a seven hour drive if I wanted to "avoid" that traffic. I'm sure you can guess which route I took.

Here's a bonus tip for ya- because this actually came to me as I was writing an earlier part of this post: BE CAREFUL WHO YOU PICK UP ON YOUR WAY TO YOUR PURPOSE!

Everybody you pass on your journey is not meant to get in the car with you. Do you pick up strangers walking alongside the street? Unless you're part of a rideshare, this isn't something you do on a regular basis. (If you're reading this and you do participate in ridesharing, I'm not knocking your hustle. Do you, boo. But be safe out there!!!). More often than not, I will give to those who are in need, standing at stop signs or red lights. But even they don't expect for anyone to have them hop in the car. Take the same consideration for your spiritual health as you do your physical well-being. Be kind. Love others. But do not attach yourself to everyone.

Take it from me, I've slowed down, if not come to a complete halt, my progress with God trying to keep people in my life that I was only meant to have a one-time giving interaction with. Some were relationships I had no business initiating/participating in, in the first place. But they came along the road to my desires and I didn't seek guidance before adding them as a passenger. Most of us have been given advice about everyone isn't meant to come with you through life; having people with us for seasons. Some aren't even meant to be around for a season. Have you ever driven down the road and seen your car? The one that someone else is driving, that's the exact make, model, and color as yours. You feel a connection when you see that other driver, and you wave. You don't pull a u-turn and follow them to where they are going, and you would be freaked out if they did the same to you.

We can't get attached to people because we see us in their situations.

Maybe you've noticed the trend by now, but I'll tie this together for you now for confirmation. Anytime we take our path into our hands, we delay what God has planned for us.

Taking the "easy" way... adds time. Going faster... adds risk. Bringing extra people... adds weight.

We already know, the plan from God is no where near as detailed as the directions provided by GPS. We can stop mid-walk and see what our next five turns are going to be. We can't even pause to see if we are arriving according to the plan. But something that hit my Spirit just now is we have a voice guiding us on our journey the same way we have the option to hear our GPS. When we feel lost, we can come to Him. Even when (especially when) we think we know where we are going, we must seek Him. When our Spirit tells us to slow down, or let another person go before us.... listen. Although we don't need Google Maps to get us to every single location we travel throughout the day, we do need God for every step we take in faith.

Getting there "faster" is not worth the risk of getting there without Him.

When we feel lost, we can come to Him. Even when (especially when) we think we know where we are going, we must seek Him. When our Spirit tells us to slow down, or let another person go before us.... listen.