Why Ask Directions?

Posted: June 27th, 2011 Category: Christianity, Common Sense

The old sarcasm about men being unable or unwilling to ask directions, has the correct assessment but fails to address the consequences. My first experience with asking for help came when getting our family certified as open ocean divers. Training was required, no problems there. The main safety rule for diving is to always have a dive buddy. You can’t work your way out of many scuba problems alone. On our fifth independent dive into this wet world, 100′ down, my young dive buddy got turned around and followed another similar looking wet suit & fins off in the wrong direction. I had to hustle to catch up and failed to check my directional compass during the urgent swim. Once reunited and turned around, the landmarks on the ocean’s floor were totally unfamiliar. We weren’t completely lost but were way off course in the moving currents. As available air was diminishing, I signaled to surface early. On breaking the ocean’s surface ten minutes later we could barely see the dive boat and had a long hard snorkel in rough seas ahead of us. I’d chosen not to hire a dive master who was familiar with the area we’d chosen to dive in. Inexperience and independence can be a scary duo.

A couple of years later I scheduled a snowmobiling excursion at about 8,000 feet in the Rockies. I asked the expedition crew at the cabin how well the trails were marked, since 12″ of fresh powder had fallen overnight and we’d be the first out on the untracked mountain paths. His response was “there are almost 700 miles of available trails around these peaks, some are pretty well marked, others not at all, we have maps”. I was instantly reminded of the unfamiliar terrain 100′ feet below the surface of the ocean. This time, I swallowed my pride, gave up my independence and hired a guide for that snowy wilderness journey. His guidance was a blessing. With our contemporary mindset, many people would rather be lost than ask for help. Life is the greatest wilderness we’ll all face. There is one qualified life-guide, just one voice that knows the destiny of each path we could choose to take. (Deuteronomy 1:32,33 NLT) “But even after all he did, you refused to trust the Lord your God, who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.” Our God wants to guide His children through the challenges, over the obstacles and around the chaos. Why resist, there’s no advantage? Resistance is our first step into harm’s way.

JC Calkins with COMMON SENSE 4 UNCOMMON PEOPLE (Share with someone you know!)