A friend of mine told me of her love for her new GPS.

“It takes the ‘are we there yet,’ question right out of the conversation,” she said.

When travelling, her kids constantly ask questions like “When will we be there,” and “How much longer.” I'm sure you can relate, if not with your own kids with an annoying sibling or even your own whiny thoughts from time to time.

Now, instead of being peppered with questions my friend's kids closely monitor the dot on the GPS so they can follow where they are on the road. Now they know exactly where they're going.

It would be nice if life had such an easy answer. If we all had a personalized GPS, with the co-ordinates of where life was taking us all punched in ahead of time. We wouldn't have to wonder where we were going, or if we were going the right way…or even how long it was going to take to get to our inevitable destination. We would live with confidence because our questions were answered.

For me, I look at the Bible as God's road map for my life. Proverbs teaches me how to live, Romans how to love, James how to work, Philippians how to find joy, and over and over again the Bible emphasizes God's commitment to me no matter what. A most comforting verse (which I think of often) is Jeremiah 29:11—“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” I can rest in the fact there is a path mapped out for me, which I can discover through reading the Bible and spending time in prayer. It's not as easy as following a dot across a screen but in the end it's worth it.

And besides, not even a GPS can anticipate construction or traffic problems. So I'm going to stop looking for an “easy button” and dig in to the work of learning how to live, love, work, laugh, and, ultimately, serve my God.