Psalm 143:8 – Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. (NLT)

Stopping for directions sometimes took a great deal of courage.

In the days before GPS systems, smartphones, Google maps, Alexa, and Siri, finding an unfamiliar location could be challenging. Filling stations offered maps to travellers. Each state map had an inset of the largest cities and showed most of the street names in the downtown areas.

If people sought country roads, however, they were out of luck. No 911 system of address numbering existed. Country residents were assigned a rural route and box number — which typically weren't displayed anywhere. Pity the mail person who had to remember who lived where. But at least people knew who their neighbours were.

Before the technology boom, asking for directions was common — at least for women. I often sent my wife into a store or filling station for directions — but rarely did I go, nor were other men likely to stop. Pride was my issue — and probably theirs. To enter a store and ask for directions was unmanly. I've been guilty of riding around for thirty minutes — wasting precious fuel in the process — rather than admitting that I didn't know how to get where I needed to go.

Although the psalmist had no wheels, he wasn't afraid to admit that he needed God's direction. He often got lost on his journeys and knew that only God could point him in the right direction. His motto was, "Trust the Lord with all your heart and let Him guide your path."

Pride will cause us many missteps, and not getting directions from God is one of them. If I think that I have it all figured out, I don't need to consult God to see if I really do. But chances are that I don't, and I will find myself driving around in circles, making the same wrong turns.

Fear of what others think will also keep me driving when I should stop for directions. What will the convenience store clerks and owners think if I, a man, stop for directions? Really, who cares what they think? Similarly, some will always think that I'm foolish to follow God's will and pray about every detail of my life.

Rather than being foolish, stopping for directions is the smartest thing to do. It saves time and fuel. It also saves us from sinful detours and foolish decisions. Let each of us make sure that we get our directions from God regularly.

Prayer: Father, give me courage to consult You on every life journey. Amen.