When we sent Apollo astronauts to the moon, there was a critical time in their journey when they undertook mid-course corrections. During the first Apollo flights I remember Walter Cronkite reporting, with all seriousness and gravity, the importance of those corrections. If the correction burn was too long or too short, the spacecraft would slingshot off the moon’s gravity and out into the abyss of space. And so the nation sat glued to the TV or radio waiting, wondering, some praying.
Mid course corrections are an important aspect of life. Have I made the correct decision, are their corrections, alterations, or changes I should make to my present life, business, academic, relational trajectory? And whose advice will design and designate the alteration to be made?
Often these times of correction come because something doesn’t go as planned or we bump into an unexpected hurtle. Such is the case for the 3 kings. As they near the land they will invade after a long march, there is no water for men or animals. A big problem for an army about to enter battle. So they stop and inquire… what should we do?
Fortunately, Jehoshaphat is present. A man of faith, he demands that they inquire of the Lord through God’s prophet, Elisha. The Lord not only provides a miraculous provision of water, He gives detailed instructions about the campaign they will wage and the victory that is theirs, if they follow God’s direction. They obey and things turn out as God said.
The idea of mid-course corrections stuck to my thinker as I mused on the text today. They are important, especially the part about checking in with the Lord. He is our truest source of strength, direction and counsel. “Be wise,” the Spirit whispers, “Counsel with Me before you set out and as you travel the course you set yourself, too. Counsel with me, I am always available and my ‘phone’ never kicks to voicemail.”
Lord, I can get so focused on the destination I believe you have set that I forget to check in along the way. Forgive me and even more, help me to learn the art of checking in along the way. Lor,d life is long and the road filled with twists and turns, sometimes an issue, forces me to consult with You along the way. However, Lord, help me to check in even before a problem surfaces…
As the song goes… ‘ Be my source, be my guide, Jesus, Jesus’… Amen.
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