“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:” – II Peter 1:19
I remember when I was about 5 or 6 years old, my father, my brother and I were in our boat on Long Island Sound. We lived on Long Island, New York at the time, but we were fishing off the Stratford Shoals near Stratford, Connecticut. There was a thick fog rolling in, so my father said we’d better start heading back across the Sound in case a storm was brewing. We put away our fishing gear, started the engine and headed back to Oyster Bay. Fog can make navigating almost impossible, especially on water, and this fog was getting thicker by the minute. About a half-hour later, we saw land beginning to appear through the fog and were shocked to find out that we were right back at the very place we left a half-hour earlier – we had gone in a complete circle and were back at the Stratford Shoals! This was getting scary!
We used up most of our gas, but my Dad thought we still had enough to make it back to Long Island. We had a compass in the boat and headed west-southwest for Oyster Bay. I was never so glad to see those huge piles of oyster shells and the piers lining the bay! We had arrived back home safely! We would have saved ourselves a whole lot of time and worry if we had only followed the compass in the first place, but sometimes we’re so sure of ourselves that we don’t realize how easily our senses can be wrong.
Many people try to navigate through life thinking they’re heading one way but ending up where they began. God has very graciously given us a compass for life so we can be sure that we’re heading toward our destination and not just spinning our wheels getting nowhere! That Compass is the Bible. When we open it, we find its Author greeting us, teaching us, revealing truth to us, and showing us things to come so we can arrive safely at our final destination, which is out of this world! Let’s not keep going around in circles… let’s end that cycle and make the Word of God our first and final authority and follow the path that leads to life!
With Love,
Pastor Tom