GPS…God’s Positioning System
In 2012, the PEW Research Center in Washington estimated that there were 214 million displaced or migrant people in the world; and of that number, 49 percent (or 104 million) were Christian. For a moment, close your eyes, open your heart, and try to imagine the unimaginable…that such a claim may actually be true! How can we even take it in? And what could we possibly do about it? “Nothing” is simply not an acceptable response, despite the growing and overwhelming sense of near-futility that causes us all to feel despair – especially for our brothers and sisters who have become disentitled and cast out of their own homes and communities.
Perhaps the most poignant example of such a forced exodus is in the ISIS-driven expulsion of Christians from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Such are God’s children, and with children of their own…families who share similar dreams and aspirations just as we do for our children here in our “corner” of the “free world.”
While praying for these dear souls the other day, I envisioned their swollen, dusty feet abandoning their material heritages one agonizing step of faith at a time. Imagine the fear and pain of a mother leading her child relentlessly into an unwelcoming desert without a clear sense of direction, purpose or promise. As followers of Christ, however, and especially when we as fellow believer’s pray for these who are in peril for Jesus’ sake, our spiritual kin have God’s assurance as recorded in Proverbs 16:9: “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” A few chapters along at Proverbs 20:24, King Solomon reminds us that “a man’s steps are directed by the Lord.” So how does God plan their steps?
Here, in our hi-tech world of decaf lattes and high-definition, rear-view auto-parking systems, more and more North American consumers (and travellers in general) are using a magical little device known as the GPS (Global Positioning System) to find their way to the closest outlet mall. You may not have stopped to consider the technology behind your personal dashboard concierge (if you have one), but let me assure you that there’s a lot at play in those boxes of “bells and whistles.” Through its interconnectivity with an array of satellites placed in very exacting, stable, and strategic orbits around the earth, the GPS system is able to track our location within two to three metres of accuracy. Then, through “trilateration,” the system looks ahead – beyond the curvature of the earth – revealing the whereabouts of an otherwise unseen destination, and thereby plotting our course on a grid-map while instructing us along our journey by the audible voice of a very polite (often “British”) lady, who offers us such stimulating conversation as, “In 300 metres, turn right.”
In considering the verses of Proverbs, as mentioned previously, it occurred to me that God’s ability to “determine” and “direct” our steps (including those of our weary, disenfranchised wanderers in search of God’s peace) is partially determined by His remarkable point of view. Our Lord, being omnipresent, and above all things, has His own GPS tracking system, which may, therefore, be referred to metaphorically as the God Positioning System. Its connectivity with His children is deeply spiritual, and its guidance accuracy both limitless and flawless.
In the month of December, a time when we lovingly remember God’s unspeakable gift of Jesus to humanity, it also occurred to me that our dear exiled friends from places like Mosul may still be streaming through the desert during periods when many of us will be gathering to celebrate Christ’s birth with our families. Maybe they will be guided to peace and to a new home by God’s other positioning system – the Star of Bethlehem in the night sky. May we all pray for their safe passage, and that they will find a place to once again call home.
- Doug
