True North: Finding Right-Side Up in a Messed-Up World
Hope Discovery of the Day:
To find true north we have to drop to our knees.
Scriptures of the Day:
Proverbs 14:12
“There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way that leads to death.”
Judges 21:25
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Trying to figure out the solutions to life’s problems can leave us in a tailspin. Determining what is right and wrong has been relegated to a matter of “whatever feels good, do it”. Hmmm. This humanistic philosophy sounds familiar . . .
Despite thousands of years of time elapsing, not much has changed. Mankind has a tendency of doing what seems right in our own eyes. And as Solomon said, there is nothing new underneath the sun. Sure, there are newer distractions and things to create confusion, but there is still a compass available for all to use that can help us to find our way. The question is, will we use it? Or will we claim it is too outdated?
Just like not much has changed in the heart of man in thousands of years, there is the same standard given to man today that was given thousands of years ago. God has not changed. Let me say that again. God has not changed. He has not deviated from His Holiness. Praise God. He has given us a standard that is defined clearly, but our culture is constantly trying to redefine those boundary lines. But no amount of man’s changing standards could undo God’s perfect law. I have to say it again – praise God!
The definition of “right” is debated over the airwaves night and day. When we shrink back and allow these false realities to go unchallenged, we are proponents of lawlessness and not defending what is right. Fear of man or craving comfort can prevent us from holding out God’s standard. But our flesh is not the only obstacle in the pursuit of true north. There are hindrances other than our own flesh that prevent us from choosing what is right.
Counsel
There is victory in the multiplicity of counselors, yet with so many varied opinions, how do we discern which is right? Depending on where we get our counsel from, we can add a lot of baggage to our uncertainty.
- Opinionated people will not think they are offering you advice, they will treat it as a prescription that you must take.
- Enabling people will go with whatever you say because they don’t want to offend you.
- Legalistic people will firmly believe that their opinion is the only relevant, truthful one in the room.
- Apathetic people will think none of it matters, anyway. And then there are the
- Honest people who, praise God, have integrity enough to speak the truth even when it hurts. Hopefully seasoned with grace!
Seeking counsel is an important part of trying to discern what is right, but the source of that counsel is critical. Find mature mentors whose worldview is grounded in the word of God but who also do not force their views upon you, especially when it is not spelled out in Scripture. Examining a situation solely from our own perspective puts us at a disadvantage.
Confusion.
We get confused when we put our faith in things that are temporal. When we expect the world to do what is right or think that unredeemed man should behave like those who have been redeemed. So how do we find true north in a world that is going in the opposite direction? Some things are black and white, while other decisions lie in gray areas. But there is a resource that matters most when we are trying to discern our way. God’s Word and His Holy Spirit. It is by God’s grace alone that we can see and understand truth. Without the Holy Spirit illumining our minds, we would remain in darkness and confusion would cloud our view. Suddenly what was confusing begins to become clear in light of God’s Word. The One Who made the world and all its inhabitants is the One Who can guide us best.
Conviction.
With morals being relative and freedom being espoused as behaving in whatever manner we feel like it, people have strayed away from having firm convictions. It seems old fashioned, prudish or judgmental to have a firm conviction. But conviction comes out of a relationship with our Creator. His boundary lines lie in pleasant places and He leads us to establish what is fitting in our lives in line with the timeless principles found in His word.
We weren’t left to figure it out all on our own. God gave us His Word, His Holy Spirit and His bride, the church, to surround us on this wild ride called life. To find true north we have to drop to our knees. Surrendering our “right” to our definition of what is right, we discover what is right by gazing into His perfect law.
Lord, thank You for Your truth! Thank You for showing us when we have gone astray. Help us to hold out your truth in a crooked world – not to shame people, but to help them to understand the beauty of walking in Your light.
To read more on this subject, you can read another article about Our Guiding God.
