Don't Travel Alone

About a month ago Tyler, my husband, and I were headed to the beach. We were planning to camp there for a week and thought it would be fun to bring the Jeep along. We could ride by the shore with the top off and enjoy the summer weather. Tyler was in the front pulling the camper, and I was following him in the Jeep. You may or may not know this about me, but I am not known to be the best driver, and am directionally challenged. I truly never know where I am exactly. Therefore, I was following Tyler very closely, because I knew that if I lost him I would struggle to find my way. Yes, I could pull it up on my GPS, but I was so stressed about driving, I forgot that was an option. We had made it to the interstate, and Tyler was driving in my opinion way too fast. I had to speed to keep up with him. I was so stressed, tense, and frustrated. Finally I called him. At first, I blew up asking him why he was driving so fast. He replied that he thought I was good, because I was keeping up fine. He didn’t know that I was struggling until I called. Tyler then slowed down a little and stayed on the phone with me. The rest of the drive was great. I was relaxed. He was able to tell me when the turns were coming up. I felt so much better being able to talk to him through the ride than just watching him from a distance. 

This experience made me think about God in our lives. I believe that there have been times in my life where I have been watching God from a distance. I would watch him work in others' lives, see miracles and wonder where he is wanting me to go, or what he is wanting me to do. I like many others have times of feeling lost and confused. It is tiring trying to navigate life on your own. In those times of struggle we forget that we don't have to do it alone. We forget that because of Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sins, we now have the ability to “call” God. You can have a relationship with Him where you can talk to Him and He will guide you.

It says in Psalms 23:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” (Psalms, 23:1-3 KJV)

The Lord is our shepherd. A shepherd guides, protects, and defends his sheep. The shepherd has unique calls to identify the sheep. The sheep are in close relationship with the shepherd, so they know the shepherd's voice. Without the shepherd the sheep would be lost. We are lost without God. Just as I depended on Tyler to get me to the beach, or we depend on GPS to get us to our destination, we need the navigation of the Lord to get us to our ultimate destination, Heaven. Along the journey, there are some mountains and valleys which is explained in the rest of Psalms 23. There will be some wonderful times along the journey and some hard times, but if you are following the good shepherd then you can have faith that He is guiding you for your good. 

I encourage you to stop traveling alone. Spend time in the word and in prayer, so you can have the guidance of the good shepherd in your life. 

References

• King James Version. Bible Gateway, 2025. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+23&version=KJV