You’re lost in an unfamiliar city. You don’t have a map, a GPS, or even speak the same language as the surrounding population. All you are given is a sheet of paper with the end destination written on it. Uncomfortable situation, right? Well, within our first few days of being in Guatemala we were given the task of a “scavenger hunt”, to find different locations throughout the city of Antigua. Luckily I’ve been to Antigua quite a bunch while on the World Race, so this should be a breeze, right? Wrong. I’m not going to say it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, by any means. It just came with its own unique challenges that really paralleled some things I’ve been going through in my walk with Christ lately.
When we got done with the scavenger hunt, we went to this really cool outdoor sanctuary. One of the staff told one of my teammates to give a 2 minute sermon. We thought he was joking, so it was very light hearted the whole way through, and it turned in to all of us giving a 2 minute message! Now, I’m not afraid of speaking in front of people, but when it’s on the spot, I do tend to panic and think of things I could’ve said, after sitting down. So my awkward, panicky self, talked about the scavenger hunt and being lost and having to approach strangers who don’t even speak the same language to ask for directions. I basically said, that people deem other people unapproachable, but really, they want to be approached. While that is true, there is more to it, that I thought of after I sat down of course.
Every time we would ask for directions to a place, the person would go into turbo drive with their Spanish that we could understand one or two words of, that really didn’t even help give us a clue of what they just said. However, they would use their hands and point us in the direction we needed to be heading. After asking multiple different people how to get to one location, and multiple hands pointing in specific, and sometimes general directions, we finally got to the destination. It hit me, that as we approached each person, I thought to myself, “it would be so much easier if they spoke the same language”. We were the ones approaching them, asking them for directions. They weren’t the ones speaking the wrong language. We posed a question and they spoke the language of direction, hand gestures included. We were the ones not understanding them, not them being unable to communicate it to us correctly. If that makes sense?
How many times are we too afraid, ashamed, hurt, embarrassed, or just too confused to approach God for direction. Or even when we do and we don’t get the answer we want or an answer we don’t even understand. I am currently going through a season in life where I am asking God for direction and He sometimes is speaking a different language, BUT He’s giving the hand gestures of pointing in a general direction. I have to remember that HE is the one speaking the language of direction and I’m the one asking for directions. I/we have to just keep following the direction He’s pointing us in and when at a crossroads, APPROACH HIM AGAIN. We don’t just get to that crossroad and say, “God lead me the wrong way” or “God doesn’t know which route is best for me”. The people of Guatemala can, at times, come across as unapproachable, but once you do you realize how kind, helpful, and beautiful they are. It can sometimes seem overwhelming to approach God with things, but how much more beautiful is the creator than the created?! Approach Him, He’s waiting to point you in the direction of deeper intimacy with him. Whether if it’s with general hand gestures, or clear as day directions. We have to keep approaching THE approachable until we speak HIS language. The destination is beautiful, eternal, and worth it all.
