You are here

Have you ever looked on the inside of the door of a hotel room? There is a little map there with a dot and an arrow pointing to a sign which reads, “You are here.” How did they know? The same words often appear on a map in the entrance of a shopping mall and even at some of the scenic lookout points in national parks. Each time the arrow points to a spot and the words say, “You are here.” How did they know?

The map is accurate; those installing the map knew where it would be located and if you are standing where you can read the map, then, “You are here.” It is helpful to consult such a map in order to get our bearings as to where we are in relation to what is surrounding us. The map’s purpose is to help us know which way to go in case of fire, or where to find a particular store in a mall, or the names of the distant peaks we see on the horizon as we stand at the edge of a scenic vista.

Do we know where we are in case of danger? Do we know where we are so we can find our way in the maze we call life? Do we recognize the hills and valleys in the distance and know what we are seeing? Our Bible serves to help us know where we are and where we ought to be going. David declared, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Now the Lord always knows where we are. Do we know where we are in relation to where we ought to be? Is our present location a fitting place for us to be? How do we get from “You are here” to where we ought to be?

If we allow our Bible to be our road map, we ought always to know where we are going and where we should be. Solomon warns us, “Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” We won’t be where we ought to be if we do not follow our road map. David confessed that he almost lost his footing when he was envious of the boastful, when he saw the prosperity of the wicked. He confesses, “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.” A map of David’s life at that time would have said, “You are here” and “here” is not where David should have been. What about us?

There is no use thinking that the Lord does not know that “we are here.” David felt overwhelmed when he declared, “You know my sitting down and my rising up; you understand my thoughts afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down. And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold. O LORD, you know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid your hand upon me.”

This fact caused David to say, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?”

The answer, of course, is nowhere. We cannot run from God anymore than Adam did when he hid or Jonah when he set sail. Since God knows we are “here,” let us each determine if “here” is where we ought to be. If “here” is not where we ought to be, then let’s get busy going from “here” to “where” we ought to be. Then we can say with David, “Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.”