Cultivating a Life of Faith
Author
Fanny Rodríguez
Summary: Just as a GPS guides a driver along an unfamiliar route and redirects them when they stray, God directs our walk. Abraham set out without knowing his destination or the way, trusting in God’s promise. Although he tried to overcome difficulties by taking his own shortcuts, God delivered him and led him to the Promised Land. We, too, need direction when we do not know what decision to make. The Word of God is our Manual for Life, and the Holy Spirit grants us wisdom to discern His will and find solutions in times of conflict. Therefore, we must seek His presence daily, nourish ourselves with His Word, and cry out to Him at all times, cultivating a genuine faith like Abraham’s.
Technological advancement continues, and we now have a device called GPS (Global Positioning System), which makes it possible to determine the position of a person or vehicle with an accuracy of up to a few centimeters. This resource helps us find directions when we do not know the route to our destination. We install it in the car, give it the address we want to reach, and it guides us along the way until we arrive. A voice directs us, giving specific instructions: take the next right; at the roundabout, take the second exit; immediately turn left. Although the driver does not know the route, he confidently follows the voice’s instructions, knowing that it will take him where he is going. Sure enough, he reaches the desired destination. However, sometimes, when we recognize the neighborhood and take a shortcut that the voice has not given us, the voice begins to say, “Recalculating”; once it detects the detour we have taken, it continues giving us instructions.
There is a person in the Bible, Abraham, whom God asked to leave his land and his relatives (Genesis 12:1), take his wife, and go to the place that He would show him. Abraham did not know the place to which he was going or the route he should follow, but God guided him on his journey, and he did not take other routes; instead, he continued with the certainty that God would lead him to the place that He Himself had promised him. During the journey, he encountered some setbacks because he wanted to take shortcuts and trust in his own knowledge to resolve conflicts. One of them occurred in the land of Egypt, where, out of fear of being killed, he lied to Pharaoh, saying that his wife was his sister; but God delivered him from this and every other problem until He brought him to the promised land.
In our daily walk, we also need direction, and on many occasions we do not clearly know which route to take. In the Word of God, we find clear guidance for every situation in our lives; it is the Manual for Life. Now, in moments of difficulty, we must consult our GPS, the Holy Spirit. He is the One who gives us wisdom not only to find direction but also to find a solution when we try to resolve something by our own means and end up in a conflict. Psalm 55:16–17 assures us that God hears our cry, but it also suggests that we should cry out to Him at all times: “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray and cry aloud.”
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word, which is a lamp to my path, and if I allow it to guide me, I will not go astray. Help me take time each day to be in Your presence and nourish myself with Your Word so that, when difficult moments come, I may discern Your will and see for myself that in You we find direction for every situation, great or small. Bless everyone who reads this message, and may their faith in You and in Your Word be as real as Abraham’s faith.