A New Spin on the Meaning of GPS

        Back in February of 2005, we took a trip down to Virginia for a family vacation. We had four small children at the time, and we knew the trip would take many long hours. My husband had recently purchased a GPS for his business and was very excited to be able to set out and test his new product, showing me all the wonderful things that it could do. Along our journey, my husband decided to take a different route than the GPS instructed and for a few hours, we constantly heard it say, "Take a u-turn! Turn right in 300 feet and make a u-turn." When he did not do as she told him she would then say,"Recalculating!" 
        The woman's voice began to grate on my nerves and I started to wring my hands in annoyance. I could not understand what was so great about this GPS if he was not even going to follow her instructions and have it constantly yell at him to turn around and go back. I began to secretly wish I had a hammer so I could silence her voice. Since we were in Virginia at this point, I nicknamed the thing 'Ginny' and kept telling her to be quiet. I was ready to toss her out the window! Who needed her help anyway? Needless to say, I was not overly impressed with all that she could do. It was not until later that week of our vacation that I realized how helpful she could be by showing us restaurants and shopping centers when it was time to go exploring. 
        My Pastor told a similar story awhile back, and made a very simple, yet intriguing application to our lives. He likened the Holy Ghost in our lives as a GPS -God's Positioning System -and said the Holy Ghost is that voice that we keep hearing over and over again, "Recalculating!" when we go off the path that God has chosen for us. Due to our own desires, temptations, or just not praying about a situation, we can stray off the path He wants us to follow, and do our own thing. That gentle voice is always there, reminding us to take the next u-turn so we can get back on the road following God's ways and not our own. We think we can do it ourselves, but sometimes we end up getting lost and find ourselves alone in a foreign place. 
        Pastor used the example of Elimelech and Naomi during the famine in Israel, which was caused because of the people's sin. Elimelech decided to take his family away from God's chosen place for His people. Naomi went out full, having a husband and two sons, and they went to a foreign country. There, Elimelech died, leaving Naomi alone with Mahlon ( meaning sickly) and Chillion (meaning wasting away.) That could not be God's best for them! Did they not get the idea to turn around and go back? No, not at all. First, they forsook God's promises, and secondly, they fought against God's punishment and as a result, lost all the men in the family. Which brings us to the third point: she forfeited God's provision. Naomi ended up returning to her homeland when she heard there was bread once again in Israel. She came back broken and bitter at God for what He had done to her. She could not see that all the time she had been fighting against the GPS in her life and had done it to herself. The one good thing she had done was lead Ruth to believe in her God. It was through Ruth that Naomi's eyes were opened to the truth and her heart began to heal from the bitterness inside. God used that family for good, because that is the line that Jesus was later born into.
Let's examine our own hearts and see if there is a small voice saying, "Recalculating!" It just may be the Holy Ghost wanting us to turn around and get back on the path of His choosing.