Upon arriving in Bethlehem and worshipping Jesus, the wise men’s course had been fully actualized. At this point, their next course seemed most wise; most logical. To return by way of the most direct route, retracing their steps back home, obviously made the most sense. But their course, would have put them right in Herod’s front yard. They could never have seen that their course would have really messed things up for Jesus, but God did. He warned them to plot a new course, and they obeyed Him.
We can’t see beyond our individual perspective and it helps to have someone share theirs with us. I lived a lot of years in San Diego and, at that time, we had a chopper pilot “Your eye in the sky, Scotty Wright” broadcasting live traffic conditions via a local radio station. He’d inform us of an overturned semi on south-bound 805 near the 8 interchange, for example, warning those of us in the area to plot a new course. If you’ve ever suffered a three-hour traffic jam on a California freeway with that third cup of coffee in you, you learned that wise men and women let Scotty plot their course to work.
God is our ultimate eye in the sky. He sees beyond our neighborhood, beyond our city and even beyond today. He sees clearly what will happen if we continue our current course and He wants us to avoid getting tangled in something that will mess us up. Trying to get to work in California without checking the traffic report can mess up your whole day. Trying to get to the center of God’s Kingdom without letting God plot our course makes even less sense. Let’s start today, and each day hereafter, by checking in with God and allowing Him to plot our course for the day. Whether your road is smooth at this time or jammed up, always be asking God: “where do we go from here?” Put your complete trust in the One who sees all.
This is God’s Word on the subject: “I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for”. Jeremiah 29:11 (The Message)
