NOTE:  I wrote this post awhile back.  At that time, problems and distractions were more personal and less global than they are right now during the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020.  If you have recently suffered some major setbacks in your goals and dreams as a result of the coronavirus and the resulting shutdowns, it might be a good reminder that God is not surprised.  He hasn’t changed his mind about you or your purpose.  Make your course adjustments and KEEP GOING!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

When the Lunar Modular of Apollo 11 landed on the moon, do you image that scientists set a course and never wavered?  Nothing could be further from the truth.  All along the way, the astronauts monitored their location and used the ships burners to push it a little bit this way or that to head back toward the moon.  Each maneuver took the ship a little too far or not quite far enough and so corrections were made to the corrections.

Because the men on the mission were aware of the need for constant vigilance, they were not frustrated or defeated.  They did not give up and they made it to the moon.  They reached the goal by using the following process:

• They knew where they were going.
• They expected to get off course.
• They took appropriate action to get back on track.
• They repeated this action as many times as it took to reach the destination.
• They didn’t give up and simply go wherever the ship was pointed.
• They didn’t get discouraged and abandon the ship.

You are like a spaceship on a mission. You must know where you are going.  If you don’t have a destination firmly in mind, you will not reach any goal.  Circumstances, moods, and emotions will come along to distract you, push you in a new direction, or rob you of energy and motivation.  If you’re not aware of these dynamics or don’t know how to redirect yourself toward the prize, you will drift—ending up wherever the current of life pushes you.

Most people do.  They settle for lives of mediocrity because they think getting off course means the end of their dreams. Because of this faulty belief, they just go with the flow or give up altogether.  But you don’t have to.  Drift is the normal state of events.  Stuff happens.  Deal with it and keep going.

King David was a man after God’s own heart.  He slayed the giant, won many battles, and ruled a prosperous land; but David didn’t always feel powerful and upbeat.  Many of his Psalms began with his expression of defeat, fear, and discouragement, but they didn’t end on a down note.  He reminded himself of the love and mighty power of God and he turned his mood around.  At one point before he became king, his army was ready to stone him because of the loss of their wives and children. David was very distressed, but he encouraged himself in the Lord (1 Samuel   30:6).  Rather than giving up and running away, David asked God what he should do and then he got up and did it!  He and his army were victorious!

When you know in your heart where you need to go, but find yourself off course–defeated, depressed, confused–depend on God to put you back on the right track.  His power and guidance are like the boosters of Apollo 11—He will correct your trajectory. Though we sometimes fail, we can get up and begin again because His mercies are new every morning.  Begin to look to Him, trusting Him to lead you to the very place of which He has painted such a vivid picture in your heart.  Refuse to look to the right or to the left.  Keep your eyes straight ahead on the Master.

No matter the destination, He is the Way.

• Successful Living