What is your Compass?

What is our compass? What device are we using to find true north? Do we believe there is a true north for our lives? What do we use to decide what direction to go? Do we use our friend’s advice? Do we read advice columns in the local paper? Do we read self help books? Do we listen to our therapist? Do we read the bible? Do we follow the latest trends or do we follow a set of principals that remain constant throughout life?

When you are trying to decide what to do about a certain situation, what do you use as a guide to figure out which direction is right? Many people trust the current trends or popular opinion. So whatever the talk shows are pushing is what is right. Don’t get me wrong, I think there are many valid opinions today. But there are also many people who have conflicting opinions. Monday the guest tells you that higher self-esteem is the answer to all the problems you have. Then on Tuesday the guest tells you that understanding your family of origin is most important. They can’t both be right, can they? We really need some other yard stick to measure things by.

The compass that we use is the Bible. It is as applicable today as it was when it was written. In the books of the bible we read about almost anything we can come across today. I know what you’re saying. “You don’t understand what I am going through. Nobody has it as bad as me or ever has.”

Let’s look at the story of David. He was a man after God’s own heart according to the bible ( Acts 13:22 ). Yet he committed adultery, conspired to have his lover’s husband killed and married his lover to cover up the adultery. That sounds like someone who is trying to stay ahead of the ball. This all happened in the matter of weeks. Yet somehow God forgave David. That didn’t mean there were no consequences, but he was forgiven. David came to terms with what he had done. He admitted he was wrong. He turned to live the right way.

The bible is filled with stories about people who weren’t perfect. Pretty much like you and me. They tried to do what’s right using their own abilities and standards. Somehow things always seemed to fail. When they trusted God in their decisions and followed the ways God suggested, they were successful.

So what is your compass? Have you ever considered the Bible?