I was back in my ancestral home a few weekends ago, for my sister’s wedding. When an intresting thing occurred and I was able to see a gospel principle in it.
It was a Friday evening and I was driving through town with my young brothers in the car. I needed to take a busy arterial north and was driving to it, when I found that the direction I was approaching from wasn’t the best approach. Mainly there was a “no left turn” sign on the perpendicular road I was on. This made it to where I had to drive past the correct road and flip a u-turn and then turn right onto the arterial. All in all kind of annoying but nothing to be concerned about.
And then my 13 year old brother from the back seat (who has never driven a day in his life) asked if I was lost. I of course, was not and told him so. And then my 9 year old brother, in his paragonic wisdom, said to my 13 year old brother that I was in fact lost. At this point there was no convincing my brother I was not lost. Nevertheless, I was driving and he had no say in directional matters and we arrived at the location just fine.
Later that evening it occurred to me that we are often in a similar situation. But following the directions of the Lord.
How often do we receive direction from the Lord and start off on that path, but then things don’t go how we think they should. We drive east instead of north, cross the arterial, and flip a u-trun. Sometimes we are instructed to take a detour we do not understand and we are tempted to ask “Are you lost?”
There is a lot that could be said about having faith, taking the turn that you don’t understand, and pressing on with faith never needing to ask that question. But these are ideals, these are where we hope to be and all to often are not. Sometimes, we have already asked “Are You Lost?”
So from here we will talk. What do we do when we have already asked?
The way I see it there are two options: You can look to the one giving directions, the Lord; or like my little brother, you can turn to some other source who equally doesn’t know the way.
Now luckily I was not beholden to by little brother’s directions. I found myself thinking of how far off course would I have been taken, had I trusted in him?
In the Book of Mormon we have a very similar situation.
King Noah is in the driver’s seat of his kingdom and was taking all the wrong turns and then a Home-Boi GPS named Abinadi came along and said “I know where you are supposed to go.” After seeing the directions Noah has a moment where he asks “Are you Lost”
We see this in Mosiah 17: 11
“And now king Noah was about to release him, for he feared his word; for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him”
Imagine you are him for a moment. You have had the road map laid before you, and you are scared. Perhaps you have been driving on the wrong roads. Perhaps your chosen streets will never take you where you want to be. But before you stands a man saying he knows the way, more than that, he has drawn it on the map. But the lines go on roads you don’t know, turns on streets you’ve never driven. You ask him, looking at the map, Are You Lost? The man says “look I know it’s a confusing path, in directions you’ve never been, but you won’t be alone in your drive.”
Do you turn to him and say “show me the way.” Or do you turn to you fellows and ask them?
“But the priests lifted up their voices against him, and began to accuse him, saying: He has reviled the king. Therefore the king was stirred up in anger against him, and he delivered him up that he might be slain.” Mosiah 17:12
Noah chose wrong. He chose to listen to people who also did not know the way and therefore went down forbidden paths, never having reached where he should have gone.
Or do you choose to be different? Do you choose to take the path laid before you. You have asked if the Lord is Lost, trust him when He says No. The Creator of both heaven and earth is never lost, for He built the roads, he knows where each goes. When you find yourself on a path you do not know, in a part of town you have never been it is not wrong to ask if you are lost, there is one who never will be who will answer you back.
But you have to follow His map, His detours, His directions, and He will bring you to your destination. But not if you priorize the voices of those who are more lost than you.
As always I’m praying for thee; please pray for me.