2 Timothy 3:16 – “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living,”
It was a nightmare of epic proportion. In my dream, I drove the wrong way, my GPS failed to reroute me, and I ended up lost. Now if you know me, you can vouch this to be my reality, for I am indeed “directionally dyslexic.” However, in this nightmare, my children felt my actions merited placing me in a lock-down memory care facility. And to make matters worse, while there, I was required to earn my keep by cleaning, cooking, and serving all the residents. I awoke with the light of day exhausted from “slaving” all night and extremely relieved it had been nothing more than a bad dream.
That nightmare stayed in my head all day. Morning coffee helped subdue its trauma, but I remained in awe of how very real that dream seemed. My heart held an extra measure of thankfulness for my real children and a bit of anger toward the children in my nightmare. There was also a realization that all my troubles could have been averted had my dream GPS rerouted me.
I am certainly no fan of nightmares and am grateful they generally reside far outside reality. However, in scripture, we find Israel living out their nightmare. Under Joshua’s leadership, God’s people had been strong, courageous, never afraid, and wholly trusted God’s providence and guidance. But in Judges 2, with the death of Joshua, the nation departed the right path, lost their way, and failed to reroute. They forsook the Lord, did evil, and in the end, found themselves slaves to other nations. Their nightmare became reality. If only they had allowed God to reroute them.
If we learn anything from scripture, we learn it is very possible to live a nightmare. Like Israel, when we are consumed with self, we lose our bearings and veer away from God’s way. When we allow words to carve a chasm in our friendships, our direction takes a wrong turn. When life gets so busy with immediate needs that we fail to see eternal needs, God’s way becomes invisible. We stand in need of a godly reroute.
According to II Timothy, the Bible offers instructions for keeping us on track. God’s Word rebukes our wrong turns. Scripture corrects our missteps. And our Heavenly Father redirects us away from disastrous destinations. I don’t know about you, friend, but I need no more nightmares! I stand forever grateful to a Heavenly Father who serves as our ultimate rerouting system.
Father God, we are grateful for Your Word that holds the power to reroute us when we err.
Blessings,
Rita Cochrane