U-TURN

 

When we went on a weekend road trip with some friends, we had our first experience of using a Global Positioning System. The GPS has a female voice, so our friends John and Mary had called their device "Gladys". We programmed our destination into the GPS, and she did her job and plotted our course. Then we sat back. Having put our faith in this little navigator, we let her direct us.

“Turn right in 0.5 miles,” Gladys said confidently. She was right—Gladys is always right. In fact, when we made an unexpected detour to get petrol, she got a bit insistent: “Please make a U-turn . . . Please make a U-turn at your earliest convenience!”

Gladys had calculated a route for us, but we had gone a different way. That was our choice, naturally. But if we had continued going our own way, we would have become lost.

Isaiah 53:6 says - All we like sheep have gone astray -  and reminds us that just like sheep, we have a tendency to go astray. It's not very complimentary to be compared to sheep. Sheep have an infuriating tendency to wander, and not infrequently, to end up in deep trouble. Men have the same tendency.  That’s why we need a Shepherd to guide us and a Saviour to pay the penalty for our sin.

No matter how far we’ve travelled in the wrong direction, it’s not too late to turn around. The Psalmist said "I acknowledge my sin unto You, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and You forgave the iniquity of my sin" (Psa 32:5). God is ready to forgive and restore. If we're heading down the wrong road, now is the time to make a U-turn.

 Making a U-turn in the Bible is termed "repentance". Repentance comes in different shapes and sizes. For some it is nothing more than being sorry that we got caught. For some it is a matter of being sorry that we are suffering because of what we did. For some it is to regret that we do bad things. But deep down repentance goes beyond being distressed about what we are. It recognises that I (i.e. as an individual) am a fallen man, and leads me to say not just "I've done some bad things", but to confess, "I am a sinful man".

Do you remember the story of the prodigal son as recorded in Luke 15?  He came to his senses, and said, I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. That's repentance; that's what we need to do. We need to turn back to God, confess our sins, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe that on the cross He died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that on the 3rd day He rose from the dead and today He is in heaven. His desire is that that should be our destination too, that we should complete life’s journey with Him.

 

This message has been adapted from a Daily Reading that appeared in "Our Daily Bread". You can read "Daily Bread" each day by clicking "OUR DAILY BREAD" here or in the left hand margin.