Finding True North

A cheer rose up from the deck of the ship when the lookout spotted the open waters. For thirty-eight days, the men on Magellan’s ships had labored to find a passageway through the treacherous and narrow waterways at the southernmost tip of South America. The goal of the voyage had been to find a western route to the Spice Islands (part of modern-day Indonesia). Finally they had arrived at their destination-the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. Magellan started the journey with five ships and 270 men. They had taken many months to get this far. Now, by his estimation, the Spice Islands were but a five day journey away.

But no one had ever navigated across the Pacific Ocean before now. The maps Magellan had in his possession were sadly mistaken. They underestimated the size of the Pacific by a whopping 80%. Rather than a week’s journey, the Spice Islands actually lay several months away. The ships were ill prepared for such a long sail. It wasn’t long before the crew was eating rats, shoe leather, and even sawdust in an effort to stave off hunger. Water supplies turned putrid. The men suffered with Scurvy, their teeth loosening in their gums and their joints aching in pain. And still only water, water, water surrounded them, no land in sight.

Finally, in anger and frustration, Magellan took his unreliable maps and cast them into the sea. They had done nothing but supply false, misguided information for the voyage. By the time the single remaining ship arrived back in Spain, only 18 of his original 270 men remained.

My kids gave me a GPS for Mother’s Day. I am delighted in the convenience it supplies while traveling in unfamiliar territory. You can find a Wendy’s restaurant wherever you are. A glance tells you how much further you have to travel. The voice brings you right to the door of your destination. It really is amazing. However, I hear that eventually my fancy little GPS will need updating, as roads change and new roads open. As up-to-date as my little gadget is right now, in a few years it will be much less reliable.

You are in trouble if you rely on an inaccurate map to find your way.

A traveler needs a dependable map. Yet how often we let unreliable things determine our thoughts and actions as we travel through this life. TV and books, for instance, can cause a serious sway on our opinions. Our guidance often comes from peers, who can be as misguided as we are. We frequently depend on our own instinct and logic. The problem is all these are fallible. So they can often make lousy guidance systems. “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12, NASB)

Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, depended on faulty guidance to navigate through troubled waters. His father had built an amazing kingdom. Unfortunately for Solomon’s subjects, as with all other great kingdoms, the burden for the expense of Solomon’s empire fell on the backs of the people. They were tired of carrying the load.

Now that a new king was on the throne, they approached him hoping for a break. “Your father made our yoke hard,” they told Solomon. “Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” Rehoboam didn’t know what to do. So he consulted with the elders who had served his father. They advised him to listen to the people, who would repay his mercy with loyal service and support.

Rehoboam ignored the counsel of the elders. Instead, he listened to his peers, who advised him not only to reject the people’s request, but to add to their burden. It wasn’t long before the people rebelled, a civil war ensued, and the kingdom split permanently into two.

We need to learn from Rehoboam’s mistake. Trusting in faulty guidance can lead to disaster.

So how can we know when our guidance is correct? God has given us an infallible resource. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path,” David wrote in Psalm 119. The Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit, has been given to us for the road we travel. The truths and principles it contains illuminate our way, which is wrought with potholes and other hazards.

The Bible is the best navigation system we can utilize. It only contains truth. And when we base our lives around truth, we have a true north from which to navigate.

“The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12, NASB