Rerouting

Bible Reading: Psalm 143:8-10; John 14:23-26

“Rerouting…rerouting…”

Landen heard his dad’s GPS talking in a lady’s voice. “What does rerouting mean?” he asked.

“It means to change direction. We need to stop by the grocery store on the way to Aunt Cyndi’s party, so I went a different direction than the one my GPS recommended. Now the GPS is rerouting, figuring out a new way to get to the party.”

“Is that a bad thing? The lady sounded mad.”

Dad chuckled. “She doesn’t get mad, Landen. She’s a machine. But, to answer your question, rerouting isn’t necessarily bad. It certainly wasn’t in this case. We can’t have a party without ice cream!”

“Let’s get mint chocolate chip!” yelled Landen’s younger brother, Archer.

“Good idea.” A minute later, Dad spoke again. “Remember last summer, when you two played ball in the house?”

Landen wasn’t sure he wanted to remember. He and Archer both nodded but didn’t speak.

Dad continued. “God tells us to obey our parents, and you two usually do. But that day, you and Archer went off course and did what you were told not to do.”

“Big mistake,” admitted Landen. “It took six months of saving our allowance money before we had enough to buy a new lamp. Worse than that, Mom cried because the one we broke was her grandmother’s.”

“When we choose to go a different direction than the one God commands, it often doesn’t end well. Instead of trusting God to help us obey Him and show His love to others, we follow our own selfish desires, and people get hurt.” Dad parked in front of the store and turned around to look at the boys. “I think the Holy Spirit did some rerouting for you both. Once you made your wrong turn, the Holy Spirit guided you back in the right direction by showing you how your disobedience had been hurtful and prompting you to admit you were wrong and ask for forgiveness.”

Landen sighed. “It would’ve been a lot easier to do the right thing from the beginning.” Then he grinned. “But we sure won’t be throwing balls in the house anymore!”

“No way!” agreed Archer.

“Good,” said Dad. “Now, let’s go buy that mint chocolate chip ice cream and get back on the road!”

-Bonnie Carr

How About You?

Did you ever do anything you knew was wrong? We all have. But, when we trust Jesus as our Savior, He gives us the Holy Spirit to be our GPS. The Holy Spirit fills us with the love of Jesus and guides us in loving others. When we don’t follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting and instead do wrong, hurtful things, the Holy Spirit will help reroute us in the right direction.

Today’s Key Verse:
Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (NIV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Let the Holy Spirit guide you