Pastor’s Corner: “Recalibration”
Lamentations 3:40 (AMP) – Let us test and examine our ways, and let us return to the Lord.
How is it that migratory birds can fly thousands of miles and arrive at the right place? Most researchers agree that migratory birds have an inner compass that helps direct their flights. They take their readings from the earth’s magnetic fields and the birds instinctively fly in the right direction. It has also been discovered that many night flying birds calibrate this inner compass by using polarized sunlight at dawn and dusk. They do this every day before they take off. We could learn a lesson from these birds.
As followers of Christ we are also on a migratory journey. We are traveling from darkness to light, sin to righteousness and the things of this world to the things of the Kingdom of God. To make this journey, God has given us the inner compass… (His Spirit) Holy Spirit. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV) – God has also set eternity in the human heart;
We are born with this longing for heaven where there is no pain, suffering, weeping, sin or death. We seek a world where there is justice, perfect peace, overwhelming joy and incorruptible love. Unfortunately sin has ruined our spiritual compass and we seek these things in the wrong way. THE WORLD HAS GIVEN US THE WRONG DIRECTIONS! And as a result we can never reach our destination.
When we come to Jesus for salvation and life, we are gifted with His Holy Spirit. In the process our inner compass for heaven is restored. The challenge is to make sure that we recalibrate the compass everyday like the birds at dawn and dusk. Because we live in a world filled with evil, lies and deception that is constantly attacking our directional mechanisms. We need to make sure our inner compass is maintained and regularly calibrated. Most Christians do neither. They do not check to see if they are going the right direction nor do they check to see if their compass is accurate and in good working order. In the process the Kingdom of God here on earth for believers appears to be out of reach, or we can’t find the way at all.
People are so often too busy following the crowd that they forget to check their directions. We are experts at managing our schedules, organizing our time with technology and filling our days with busyness, but the destination of perfect love and peace is elusive. We are so busy and distracted that we become disconnected from real life. God wants us to live life with direction and filled with spiritual life. 1 Timothy 6:19 (NIV) – 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
God’s word warns against an unexamined life. It is possible to start the journey with promise, but be taken off track by distractions and busyness. 2 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV) – 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? Haggai 1:7 (NIV) – This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.
A compass is best used with a map. That is why reading our Bibles and reflecting on His Word through prayer and worship helps us recalibrate our compass (connection to Holy Spirit). The right direction of a Spirit filled life must surely point to Jesus, because the purpose of our spiritual journey is to become like Him. Ask (examine) yourself these questions: In what ways am I moving closer to my destination? Or do I seem to be drifting off course? Where in my life do I need recalibration?
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton