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A Guest Post by Jessica Abriel

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am very bad at directions. I can recognize places by landmarks and I can tell you exactly which street or what place we need to end up at, but I can’t tell you how to get there or navigate in any way.

When I went to Europe last summer, I arrived first in London. This was my first trip out of the country and I went by myself. This means that once I arrived I was at the mercy of a street map and a somewhat finicky navigation app on my phone. London is not a small place and it has methods of transportation that I was not familiar with.

The first time I stepped into the London Underground I felt incredibly overwhelmed. My initial instinct was just to stand there looking completely lost and hope someone came over and asked if I needed help. After a few moments of watching hundreds of people walk past me (and seeing a fight nearly break out), I knew that the only way I was going to figure it out was to raise my own voice and ask someone for help. Once I overcame my fear of talking to strangers the first time, the rest of the trip was a breeze. I only got lost once in downtown Dublin while looking for a local restaurant and I ended up at a Burger King instead.

Hey, food is food.

It’s interesting how quickly it became easy for me to ask random European strangers for help when I needed it, but how hard of a time I seem to have asking God for the same thing. God isn’t a random European stranger. He should be the first person I talk to when I’m at a place in life I can’t navigate, but it never seems to play out that way. The natural instinct for me is to try every possible fix I can because apparently I know better than the Almighty God - right? (Um, wrong).

I’m slowly learning that the longer I put off asking God for guidance when I feel lost somewhere on my journey through life, the longer I’ll continue wandering around unfamiliar streets. Inevitably, it seems, I get completely lost and then the battery on my phone dies. How much smoother, I wonder, would things run if I just asked for help in the first place? Maybe I’d find what I was looking for a lot sooner, instead of giving up and settling for something not quite as appealing.

Because trust me, nobody wants to eat at the Dublin Burger King for the rest of their life.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

James 1:5

Are you needing some help navigating?  

Maybe we can help.  Here are a few suggestions:

1) Find a small group.  If you need help finding a group of people who are learning to seek God's wisdom, let us know - we would love to help get you connected. 

2) Start in prayer.  Monday evenings our sanctuary is open  for a drop in prayer time, with helps and stations to get you going.  

3) Join us as we journey.  We are all learning to walk in step with God.  On Sunday mornings we gather together to remind each other of who we are, who God is, and how we are invited to help make Jesus known.