Maps and Voices

With today's cooler temperatures and dreamy breeze, I decided to try a hike at Red Hills again. This time I was able to make it all the way around. Even though it wasn't as hot as the other day, I still felt as though I was wandering in the wilderness. If I wouldn't have had a map, I'm sure I'd still be wandering.

Hiking at Red Hills is a little tricky because of the many forks in the trail and lack of trail markers. The map I had was on an app called 'AllTrails.' It's like a GPS for hiking: it allowed me to see my location on the trail relative to the whole route, outlining the trail in red so it was easy to follow. Acting like a compass, it allowed me to choose the right direction when I came upon one of the many forks. It surely is a lifesaver of an app for hikers, mountain bikers, runners, and anyone adventuring on a trail.

Something I noticed both times I have used the app to navigate the trail at Red Hills is that periodically along the map outline are little yellow dots. These are waypoints from other people who have traversed the trail. Most of them said things like, 'Turn left at the fork,' and listed coordinates for that spot on the trail. When the map showed that I was at one of those waypoints, it also showed me that if I turned in that suggested direction, I no longer would be following the designated trail as outlined on the map.

I'm sure that, had I taken the suggested direction, I would have eventually found my way back to the parking lot. The hike was a long one, so perhaps taking the waypoint would have meant a shorter hike, but I wouldn't have had the certainty of following the red line on the map. In fact, it would have been useless, and I might have gotten lost.

Isn't this a bit like our Christian walk? God has a designated trail marked out for us to follow, outlined for us in His Word. But how many times does the enemy come along with his waypoints, tempting us to stray from the long path ahead of us? And how often do we decide to listen to his voice instead of God's?

I'm reminded of a few things Jesus says in John 10:3-5, about the Shepherd and His sheep. He says, "The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  I knew the path outlined for me in red on my hike today. I saw other suggestions, but I wouldn't follow them because I didn't know them. The outlined path was sure; not so with the suggestions.

Whose voice are you going to listen to? Whose path will you follow? Psalm 23 says He leads us along paths of righteousness. The trail is already marked out in red. The question is, will we follow? Or will we follow a stranger's waypoints? Will we follow His voice, or a stranger's? I hope we choose Him. He's the only surety we have of not getting lost.