God's Positioning System

A few years ago, I decided to take my management team out to dinner. After I parked my car at the restaurant, I stood by myself in the parking lot talking to my wife on the cell phone. 

In the corner of my eye, I noticed that a small, compact car pulled in and parked. However, I didn't think a whole lot about it.

Then, a young man suddenly jumped out of that car, and pointed a gun at my head. As I lowered the phone from my ear, I asked the young man, "What can I do for you?" 

He said, "I want your cash!" When I opened my wallet, I was glad to see that I had plenty of one dollar bills. I jokingly said that you have just robbed the right person because you've gotten a lot of money. 

After I handed it to him, his attention turned from me to counting the money. As he counted, something told me to make my way into the restaurant. 

As I slowly moved toward the restaurant, I escaped without notice, not only with my life, but also with my wallet and credit cards. 

This robbery is a life and death example of the importance of listening to what I call MY still small voice, which told me to head toward the restaurant. 

Don't laugh. You get them, too! Have you ever said, it just dawned on me, or it just came to me, or a light bulb just turned on?

What you're actually referring to is YOUR still small voice, which a lot of people call their conscience. 

If you looked up conscience in the dictionary, it defines conscience "as a sense of right and wrong". My conscience gave me the "right" direction that night which saved my life.

A conscience or sense of direction is not unique to humans. It is also exhibited in nature. 

One such example is the migratory instinct in birds. This instinct prompts them to relocate to a more favorable climate in order to survive. Even insects have this instinct. 

For example, honeybees can construct a complex hive without sophisticated communication skills. Their instincts directs them what to do.

You and I, also, have a God given sense of right or wrong commonly known as a conscience, which prompts us toward the right way to go. 

Think of your conscience like the Global Positioning System in your car. When you are supposed to make a turn, it prompts you when to do so.

Your conscience routinely suggests course corrections in every area, including your thoughts, words, and deeds. 

Having your best interests at heart, your conscience makes you aware of wrong turns, and then gets you back on track.

In fact in Romans 9:1, Paul even referred to his conscience as an instrument that the Holy Spirit uses to speak to him. 

If you can learn to accurately listen to your conscience, you'll find that it is actually a tool God uses to speak to you.

Some people are so annoyed by their conscience that they have damaged it. Paul refers to this as a seared or burned conscience in I Timothy 4:2. 

They've attempted to unplug it or disable it, but this only endangers them because this is their safety device. If you have a damaged conscience, ask God to heal it, and then nurse it back to health with God's Word. Learn to follow its directions BEFORE a mistake is made.

If AFTER you've missed your turn, quickly admit the mistake, correct it, & get back on course. Just like the honeybees with honey, we have to tune out the confusion and tune in our conscience. 

Then, we'll, too, prosper like the honeybees. Tune it in instead of tuning it out. It could even save your life. It did for me.

M. H. Dennis