Thursday Thoughts – November 13, 2025
By the Rev. Dr. Dennis E. Morey
Faith Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids, Iowa
How to get from here to there? A guide to using GPS
Most plans begin with a desire to get from here to there. Most of the time, if we are not familiar with the way to get from here to there, we use the GPS (Global Positioning System) and listen to the voice that guides us to our destination.
When the Israelites were in exile in Babylon and crying out to God for relief and rescue, this word from God came to Jeremiah: “I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out; plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13 NLT)
Beyond any plan we could have for our own lives, the plan of God is one worth going after. Whatever holds us captive, whether it’s the fear of failure or even death, it is a great comfort to know that God has a plan for each of us.
In the context of the verses above, those who were held captives understood that beyond the power of their circumstances, God’s promises were to be depended upon.
When circumstances hold us captive, when we don’t know how to get from here to there, we have this promise: “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.”
Most of the time when our plans fail, or when someone else’s failed plans weigh us down with extra cares in life, it is because we did not call on the One whose plan is best.
Who will be wise enough to consult God and ask God for the plan? Who will be brave enough to admit he or she doesn’t know how to proceed? Such decisions lead to finding God’s plan.
We were not created as a wind-up toy whose spring will be good for 80 or 90 years and then will wind down or the spring will break somewhere along the way and life will escape the body. God’s plans for us are eternal. God doesn’t want to abandon us, leaving us stranded in the set of circumstances that has us troubled and without direction. If we settle for that place, we have chosen it in preference to God’s plan.
How do we get from where we are to where God wants us to be? We choose to start the journey. We find that GPS means more than Global Positioning System and being guided by the satellite view from above; it also means God’s Plan Succeeds. We choose to find out God’s plan and then go after it by listening to God’s direction. We choose to read God’s word. We choose to talk to God and ask God about each of the challenges we face and to seek God’s direction. We choose to meet with other Christians to worship God on Sunday as part of Christ’s church.
We stop making excuses for our failures. We stop blaming someone else. We begin to see our choices have an effect on every aspect of life. The question is no longer, “How can I get from here to where I want to be?” The question becomes, “How can I get from here to where God wants me to be?”
See you here next week for more on Thursday Thoughts.
