Listening to the Voice of Direction

“You are over the speed limit,” the friendly but slightly mechanical voice says.

I smile. She’s my friend, a companion who takes care of a little piece of driving worry. And, I like that because I hate driving, and I pretty much need all the help I can get.

The rest of my family has little affection for the built in GPS voice. When she reproves my husband with, “You are over the speed limit,” he talks back to her like she is a real person. He defends himself with a logical response. He explains the perfectly, ah-hem, “legitimate” reasons he might have been ever so slightly over the limit, or explains to her why in fact, she got that wrong.

After my son uses our car, she is silent. It usually takes us a while to realize the dashboard traffic controller is muted. My son knows how to get rid of her with one click. It takes us an hour to figure out how to get her back.       

Most everyone dislikes the voice from the dashboard, except me. I like to know she is looking out for me. I miss her if she is silenced.

Most of the family prefer phone apps. Phone apps never say, “You are going over the speed limit.”

My family likes the kind that makes road decisions, avoids trafficked routes, chooses roads to follow, determines turns to make, and is open to reporting obstructions on the side of the road. My husband gets excited about those because he gets points for reporting them. We have no idea what the points are for, but he loves getting them.

I’ve counted four different voices advising from four different passenger’s phones in our car, at the same time. I wait for the day when the voices begin to argue with each other.

“See, I told him not to turn there.”

“He should have kept going.”

“I told you, he needs to stop and turn around.”

We’ve had actors and actresses, musicians and sports casters, international accents and foreign languages giving matched and unmatched directions.

When my family complains how annoying my friendly dashboard speed commentator is, I say, “Really?”

There’s a straight stretch of road just out of town on the way to our house. Virginia roads are usually curvy so this one is almost more temptation than most Virginians can handle. The speed limit is only forty-five on that in-between road. Often the lady on the dash speaks up, even to me, and I am definitely not a speedy driver. I’m that little old lady with a death grip on the wheel.

The friendly voice watched out for me today.

There are times in life when it feels like God isn’t paying attention or responding to how my life is going. Sometimes He seems silent, disconnected. I feel like I’m on the road alone. And at those times, I want to hear Him say, “this is what you should do.”

Aren’t we all ready listeners to outside voices that sometimes drown out the still small voice with which the Father often directs us?

When answers feel most distant and dim, God’s Word is essential. His Presence is vital. When we find ourselves at a crossroads and don’t know the right turn to take, we need to be in the place where we can hear His voice the clearest.Aren’t we all ready listeners to outside voices that sometimes drown out the still small voice with which the Father often directs us? Share on X

When Jesus prepared his disciples for His departure, He told them,

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7 ESV)

He never left them alone. Sometimes I think it would be nice to hear a voice, get an email, or text when I’m not sure what to do. But, God gave us a Book, and that takes care of pretty much everything.

When we are in that bewildered space of not knowing the next road to follow, we have His Word. It is solid, concrete truth. The Spirit expresses Himself through what is written for our benefit, our encouragement, and direction. It is there to comfort our hearts in sadness and trial.

He is the direction we need when we feel lost. He is the hope which gives us the way to go and the wisdom to get there.

Listening for His voice of direction, and waiting for Him to direct my next turn is where I need to be.

“You are over the speed limit,” comes again from the dashboard. I grip the wheel a bit tighter, slow down, and smile. She always gives me good advice.

*Feature Photo by Philip Schroeder