Obstacle Course of Life

“Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?” (Pr 20:24 AV)

This is something we know as a child.  Before the age of adolescence, it is natural for us to assume adults know more about our own lives than we do.  If we disobey, it is more an issue of fleshly impulse than it is our own judgment.  Reason and logic do not go into the head of an eight-year-old before he makes a wrong decision.  Discretion is not a highly developed skill.  When puberty hits, so does the ability to reason.  Our ability to think abstractly begins to develop.  We can see a bigger picture.  We can begin to see the principles.  As we mature, this function grows and becomes more a part of who and what we are.  There is nothing wrong with this and it is how the LORD has made us.  However, the trap becomes obvious.  We begin to believe if we can reason, then we can reason all things.  If we can figure out some things, then we can figure out all things.  This is simply not so.  The LORD knows from eternity past what course our lives should take.  This plan is in the mind of God and revealed over time.  He is the one who know the course we should take.  He is the one who knows the details of our pilgrimage.  He is the one who has designed it so.  That being said, only God knows what He expects and of what He has planned.  We are foolish to think we can figure this out all by ourselves.

There was an event in my life which I have shared before, but it is so profound, it bares repeating.  One of the skills which we were required to master was reading a compass and following a map.  To prove this point, there was an obstacle course set up in which the participant used a compass and written instructions that would guide him to the desired spot.  We were given written instructions like, “head fifteen degrees and walk six paces.”  There were four posts at the end of the course.  Each of a different color.  It would have been useless to get our bearings and head for a post because it may not be the post designed to match the instructions we had been given.  There were objects in the field which would hinder our progress.  To make this challenge even more difficult, a paper grocery bag was placed over our heads.  We could see the instructions.  We could see a foot or so around us.  We could see the compass.  This was not a timed challenge.  There would be point deducted for how far off the mark we were or if we bumped into any obstacles.  The contest simply ended when we had followed all the instructions.  The object was to see how close we could get to the right stake in the ground.  One wrong step or one wrong count would cause us to be way off our mark.  Improper equipment, lack of a standard as to paces per foot, or improper technique could all land us way off our mark.  We did not know exactly where we were to end up, nor how to get there.

This challenge taught me a great principle of life.  God created me for a specific purpose.  God also created me for general purposes of which we are all designed.  Christlikeness, service, God’s glory, human relationships, and most importantly, fellowship with God are all examples of the general plan of God for every human soul.  There are specific callings in life.  How we serve the LORD is a specific calling.  Whom we are to marry is another.  Career choice can be a specific calling of time, place, and opportunity.  The point is, we do not always know the stake we are to be aiming for.  We certainly do not know all the potential obstacles that may lay in our path.  Just because we have developed the ability to reason does not mean we can navigate the course of life without God’s input.  Just because we can extrapolate some outcomes, does not mean we can do the same with all outcomes.  It would be foolish to navigate our pilgrimage thinking we are sufficient in ourselves to get us through successfully.  God knows what He has planned.  Only He does.  We should follow the written instructions which He has provided and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, go where we should instead of going where we think we should.