Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
April 25, 2012

“Do You Know Where You Are`?”
“She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not.” – Proverbs 5:6

Go to any mall and there are normally signs that have a listing of all the mall’s stores along with a little “dot” saying, “You are here.” A comforting thought if you did not know at the time!
An airline pilot with poor eyesight managed to pass his annual vision exams by memorizing the eye charts beforehand. One year, though, his doctor used a new chart that the pilot had never seen. When he proceeded to recite the old chart, the doctor realized that he'd been suckered all these years. The doctor could not contain his curiosity. "How is it that someone with such poor eyesight can manage to fly a plane at all? For example, how do you taxi the plane out to the runway?" "Well," said the pilot, "it's really not very hard. I follow the instructions of the ground controller. Also, the landmarks have all become very familiar to me over the years."
"I can understand that," replied the doctor. "But what about take off?"
"Again, a simple procedure. I just aim the plane down the runway, go to full throttle, pull back on the stick, and off we go!"
"And once you're aloft?"
"Oh, everything's fully automated these days. The flight computer knows our destination, and all I have to do is hit the autopilot and the plane pretty much flies itself."
"But I still don't see how you land!" "Oh, that's the easiest part of all. All I do is use the airport's radio beacon to get us on the proper glide path. Then I just throttle down and wait for the co-pilot to scream loudly, then I pull the nose up, and the plane lands just fine!" Not sure if I want to travel with that pilot!! Sometimes a little humor makes what we do easier to take—but the reality of Solomon’s words needs to settle in and remind us how easily we can get off course. In truth, we are but passengers in this life and who we travel with will greatly determine if we make it to the right destination! Remember the purpose behind this verse. It has to do with preventing the reader (and more importantly the man/woman of God) from falling into the snare of the deceiver. If you follow the leading of the deceiver—expect the road to be filled with curves and detours—with the intent of getting you totally and completely lost.
Captain Greg Anderson was leading a company through the south of France after D-Day. The day before the Company Commander had been killed in action, leaving Anderson with the responsibility of directing 83 men through hostile territory. His orders were to connect with 101st Airborne toward Bastogne. With map in hand the company thought they were on the right road until they came to a blockade. They ran into a couple of other units with the same orders. However, they were at a standstill because there was some confusion regarding the route that they were to be taking. The maps showed they should be going one direction but road signs were showing a completely different route. Not only that, directing traffic at the roadblock was an MP, instructing traffic to take the route opposite of the map. Anderson felt checked about this and decided to go against the MP’s direction and take the direction on the map. What Anderson later discovered was that the MP was an English-speaking German and was directing these units into an ambush. Hundreds of soldiers were killed, wounded or captured. Anderson’s decision saved his unit from certain death and they would eventually meet up with the 101st and participate in the Battle of Bastogne, helping to bring World War II to its eventual end.
Do you know where you are going? There are a number of voices that will tell you which way to go—and if you are not confident in your belief you may be headed for an ambush. Know where you are going and what it takes to get there!
Pastor J. T. Carnell