One of the first things I learned as a Boy Scout was how to use a compass. It was an important skill because if you ever got separated from your troop, or lost in the woods, a compass was the tool that could guide you back to safety.

To test our proficiency, our scoutmaster set up a compass course in the woods. He gave us a map and a sheet of paper with instructions. Then we had to follow the instructions using our compass and map to several check-in points. If we made it to each check-in point on time, we passed the proficiency test.

Passing the test in the daytime was fairly straightforward because landmarks were easy to spot on the map confirming we were headed in the right direction.

But we also had to pass the test at night, and that was much harder!

It was harder because at night we couldn’t see the landmarks and had to trust our compass entirely. The thing is, at night it is easy to get disoriented. You swear you’re going south while your compass says you’re going north.

So, to pass the proficiency test at night, you had to know how to really use your compass and map, and you had to trust them over your own instincts.

You see, the compass can only point you in the right direction, it can’t make you go there.

To reach our destination safe and sound we must 1) know how to use our compass, 2) we must trust our compass, and 3) we must go the direction the compass tells us.

In many ways, life is like a very complicated compass course, taken at night!

It is easy to get lost on our way, to wander off the trail, and get lost on this journey of life. But the good news is God has given us a compass. Our compass is God’s Word, the Bible.

To avoid getting lost along life’s journey, we need to use God’s Word like a compass. We need to know how to use God’s Word, we must trust it, and we must follow the directions God gives us.

Know God’s Word

A compass won’t do you much good if you don’t know how to use it. The same is true of God’s Word. To know how to use God’s Word, we have to know and study God’s Word.

King David said he had hidden God’s word in his heart (Psalm 119:11). As a result, David said, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105).

For God’s Word to be a light to our path we need to study it just like the Berean’s whom Paul commended for their devoted study of God’s Word (Acts 17:11).

Trust God’s Word

A compass also won’t do you much good if you don’t trust it. To benefit from God’s Word, we must trust what God tells us.

King David’s son, Solomon, said we must trust in the Lord, not ourselves, and when we acknowledge God, He will guide us (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Solomon also said, “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Proverbs 30:5).

God’s Word is true. We can trust what He tells us. When we trust God, He becomes a shield of refuge in life.

Follow God’s Direction

A compass won’t do much good if you don’t follow the direction it gives you. The same is true of God’s Word. We have to follow God’s direction; we have to follow His plan if we want to live the life God intends for us.

Right after God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, Moses told the people of Israel to, “Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess” (Deuteronomy 5:33).

A Leader’s Compass

Knowledge of God’s Word. Trust (faith) in God’s Word. Obedience to God’s Word. These three; knowledge, trust, and obedience are linked together.

God’s compass, His Word, can only point us in the right direction. It can not make us go there. We must choose to know God’s Word, to trust God’s Word, and to obey God’s Word.

There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end, it leads to death (Proverbs 14:12). God’s way leads to a fulfilling life, and in the end, life everlasting.

Join the Conversation

As always, questions and comments are welcome. What guides and directs your life? Is it God’s Word, or something else?

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Category: Personal Development | Obedience to God