Road Maps and Instruction Manuals

     I believe it is in our DNA. I mean what is it with men and asking for directions when we happen to get on the wrong road and are headed in the wrong direction. Not only will we not admit to the other passengers in the vehicle that we might be "lost", but we will bull headedly continue to drive ahead stubbornly thinking to ourselves that just ahead there is going to be a magically placed connecting road sign that will get us back on the path we are supposed to be traveling. Then there's instruction manuals, I remember so many Christmas gifts and birthday presents that came in a box with over 500 pieces, a tool that I have still to be able to name, and a limited number of hours to get the thing together before the appointed celebration took place. The easy thing to do, but the thing that wasn't going to happen, would have been to follow the directions, 1. Make sure all pieces are included in your package. 2. You will need the following tools.... 3. Do not do step ten before you do steps 4,5,6,7,8, and 9, you get the picture. Many of you that are reading this know exactly what I'm talking about because admit it or not you probably are guilty of committing this breach of protocol, or you may have been the one sitting in the passenger seat or on the couch as the other person delved down the path of "doing it my way". I can't explain why it is the way it is, but I do know that when I in my own experiences tried to find the right road on my own, or when I tried to put that 500 piece Barbie playhouse together without following the instructions I generally just made a mess and wasted a great deal of time getting to my original destination. Honestly who really wants to end up in down south Mississippi when you are actually headed for Orange Beach, Alabama? Or who among us wants to put the whole project together just to find out that the one piece you left out is the one piece that allows the whole thing to light up or roll around the house?
     Whether we want to admit it or not this is not the only place that we fail to follow the directions or read the instruction manual in life. Unfortunately, too many of us, too many times try to do life without following the directions or reading the instructions before we proceed. In our lives we have been provided with an instructional road map that will provide us with the directions that will always lead us to the right destination. Solomon, the author of the book of Proverbs in the Bible, lays it out pretty plainly in Proverbs 16:9 "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." When we seek guidance, when we ask for directions in life's decisions, and as we are making plans for our day or for our future there is a ready made instructional manual that will guide us in all things. The reality of it is we try to do things "our way" or we think we know the directions to our destination so we attempt to get there without following the road map that is available. 
     If you seek guidance and you follow a map in your life currently you know how much easier it is to make it through the missteps and detours of life that are bound to happen. If you read, study, pray, and meditate on scripture the directions are right there for you to follow. If you don't believe me check out Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you^.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." The key to success in asking, seeking, and knocking is that you are looking in the right place for the answers you are seeking. 
     It would be too easy to advise you to pick up a Bible and tell you to just start reading and you will receive the answers to the questions you have. No, that may not be the easiest way to find the directions for your journey that you are seeking. Find a study, partner up with your partner, take part in a support group, join a small group at church, or go online and google devotional studies that are available. Your time spent in the Word needs to be purposeful, deliberate, and destination driven. If none of these seem to be working reach out to a mentor, a COACH hint, hint, and see if they can offer some advice. Just remember it's all about understanding that we can't do this life alone. Our children, our spouses, our co-workers, decisions on the job, decisions about finances, all of these are areas that are covered in our instruction manual for life. Will you ask for directions?  Will you read the instructions before you make the decision you are about to make? It's all a choice, put your pride to the side, commit to spending time in reading your instructional guide, and then put it to practice in your life. It will make a difference I know, I do it daily and the Lord establishes my steps! 
Have a great week and ask, seek, and knock it's all there waiting on you! Coach Carter