Guidance: 20 Miles to Knoxville
by Billy Strother
Several years ago, I found myself returning home from Indianapolis (where all of my family lives) to my home which was in Atlanta, Georgia at the time. Being the only pastor in my extended family, there were frequent quick trips from Atlanta to Indianapolis: funerals, weddings, sicknesses, prison visits, and holidays. My route from Indianapolis south to our beloved “Hotlanta” took me south down Interstate 75 through Chattanooga. My lovely wife, Ms. Carol, was born and raised in Chattanooga, and the remainder of her extended family still lives there. So, anytime I took the drive from Indy to Atlanta, I always made a short stop in Chattanooga to visit two of the most precious people I have ever known: my father-in-law, T. W., and my mother-in-law, Lois. (My in-laws were my greatest preaching fans. Now that was gift!)
I stopped by their home just off I-75 in Chattanooga for a brief and joyful visit, and then pulled out from their driveway for the final 3 hours of my 10-hour trip to south Atlanta. By the time I left Mom and Dad’s in Chattanooga, it was well after dark. I was already exhausted from driving all day from Indy. I wound my way from their modest home on Elm Street back onto Interstate 75, hoping to stay awake long enough to arrive safely home.
After getting back on I-75, I turned on the mobile GPS. Once the map populated, the first message the device blurted (in a haughty British accent) was these words: “Rerouting! Take the next exit and make a U-turn.” I thought, “Great, the Garmin is on the fritz.” So, I shut it off and restarted it to reset the device. Once the map repopulated, I heard this directive again: “Rerouting! Take the next exit and make a U-turn.” I had made this long drive many times. I know how to get home. Just stay on I-75 South until I get home! Now I am getting faulty guidance from my Garmin … ridiculous. Confident my GPS device was whacked, I just turned it off, unplugged it, and threw it in the backseat. Enough of that. I then just forcefully widened my eyes and headed on home. I was still so sleepy; I was watching my watch more than the road. I keep telling myself, “Just get to three hours without crashing and you will be home in your own bed!”
After 2 hours of driving, I finally thought that I had better start reading road signs again. In the dark, I read the first green road sign: “20 Miles to Knoxville.” What? Uh … Atlanta is south of Chattanooga on I-75, Knoxville is north of Chattanooga on I-75. Uh … when I left Mom and Dad’s, I mistakenly got on I-75 North instead of I-75 South! I had been heading away from our home in Atlanta. After two hours of fatigued driving, I was now 5 hours from home. I should not have trusted solely in my own voice. I should have heeded the solid advice even my soulless electronic device was giving: “Rerouting! Take the next exit and make a U-turn.”
We all need guidance…
Yes, as leaders, we know how critical prayer and personal meditation through the Word are as sources of guidance. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (KJV). We pray. We meditate. We listen.
But we need to practice caution in only relying on ourselves for guidance. Jeremiah identifies the precarious nature of solely trusting in our own advice: “The human heart if the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really know how bad it is?” We are all broken, and we know it. We have to guard ourselves from, well, deceiving ourselves.
Have you ever thought about this? Most meaningful guidance happens in community. We need one another for godly advice. “Plans are established by seeking advice; so, if you wage war, obtain guidance” (Proverbs 20:18, NIV). I have no desire to wage war, but life is full of circumstances which require decisions—I am always in need of good advice. I still find myself confronted with positive and negative circumstances in which I have little or no experience; that is when I most need the advice of godly Christians before making a decision.
Greater strength, greater wisdom, greater confidence, and greater outcomes arise from relying on one another for advice. We are less likely to make errant decisions if we do so in community than when relying only on ourselves.
The advice of those we trust who trust the Lord, can break an impasse in decision making, point us in the right direction, or dispel clouds of confusion.
My wife, Ms. Carol, and I have a saying: “When you do not know what to do, do not do anything.” Now, that is not an invitation to procrastination. It is a maxim to guard against foolhardy decisions, and a call to reach out for good advice.
Getting good advice is not a sign of weakness. We need each other. Sometimes you may be the person from whom other Christians request advice. Sometimes you may be the person pursuing spiritual or practical advice from other Christians.
Providence? Maybe. While writing this blog, I was interrupted by three phone calls, all persons seeking advice: an elderly church pianist about how to approach her preacher about a doctrinal disagreement; a young preacher in his first ministry, who has been invited to serve a different congregation; and an elder from a church struggling to make positive changes.
I do not just receive calls, I make calls to mentors, friends, and trusted spiritual persons who love Jesus when I need advice. I see some things coming on the horizon, things which will be for me new and challenging experiences, things for which I will need some wise counsel. When I need your advice, I hope I can count on you to share your guidance with me.
We need each other, especially when we might be headed in the wrong direction. We may need to hear a trusted Christian advisor say to us: “Rerouting! Take the next exit and make a U-turn.”
