“The Guidebook for Crossing the Desert of Life” (Psalm 1)

"Follow a Compass, not a Map”

Steve Donahue is a professional speaker and consultant. In 1977, as a young man, Steve successfully crossed the Sahara Desert overland from north to south. Based on his desert adventure he wrote a book entitled Shifting Sands: A Guidebook for Crossing the Deserts of Change. He provides six guidelines how to cross a desert. The first rule he describes is this: “Follow a compass, not a map.” He had spent the night studying his map, but it was useless because he did not know his position. In the desert most of the time maps are useless. If you named a sand dune, the map would be out of date before the ink was dry because the sands constantly shift. And you may be lost. We often start crossing our deserts of life with maps. We read books, listen to advice, and we use benchmarking. They are beneficial, but the thing is they are too soon outdated. In the desert of life what we need is a compass, not a map. In the book the author reiterates that we must follow our inner compass. This morning I will show you how to find and follow your inner compass to cross the desert of life successfully.

The Path of Righteousness (v. 1)

Psalm 1 clearly says that an inner compass is the word of God. The Bible says there are two ways of life: one is the way of the righteous, and the other is the way of the wicked. The difference between the two is whether they have the word of God in their hearts. When we have a right inner compass, that is the word of God, it gives us at least three great benefits. First of all, the word of God guides us in the right direction. Verse 1 says, “Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers” (NRSV). In many cases, we commit a sin not because we don’t know it’s wrong, but because we love the sin. We know it is wrong to be addicted to pornography. We know it is wrong to evade taxes. We know it is wrong to steal. But we cannot help doing it, because sin is attractive, desirable, and powerful in appearance. But when we have the word of God in our hearts, then we are able to escape from the enemy’s trap and we come to hate the sin more and more. In Psalm 119:9-11, the psalmist says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word… I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” The word of God is our one and only true compass. This inner compass keeps us from following the way of the wicked and guides us in the path of righteousness.

Joy (v. 2)

Secondly, the word of God gives us joy. Verse 2 says, “But their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night” (NRSV). What kind of delight is this? What kind of pleasure is this? It is not pleasure from mere study or intellectual knowledge of the Scriptures. But it is pleasure from obeying the Word of God. So, New English Translation clarifies verse 2 as follows: “Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the LORD's commands.” In Ps 119:34-35, the psalmist says, “Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.” When we have the Word of God and follow it day and night, we will find great pleasures from above.  

George Muller was a pastor in England. At that time people were going through the Industrial Revolution. Many of them lived from hand to mouth, and even little children had to work. Many people left church to work on Sundays. Muller preached and exhorted the people with Exodus 16, “If you rest on Sunday by faith, you will gather twice as much on Saturday.” But the people answered, “Pastor, we know the word of God, but we live in the real world. We have to work on Sundays for a living.” And they left. Muller decided to put the word of God into practice in his own life. He had no money with him, but he set up and run an orphanage by the faith that “God is the Father of orphans. He will provide.” He made it a rule not to ask people for help, but to pray to the Lord. In his life he cared for 10,024 orphans, and his children never skipped a meal even a single day. Every morning he meditated on the word of God and applied it to his life, and he experienced tremendous joy. For instance, one day Muller and all the children had no food for breakfast. But he had the children sit at the table, and he gave thanks for breakfast, even though there was nothing to eat in the house. As they finished praying, the baker knocked on the door with sufficient fresh bread to feed everyone, and the milkman gave them plenty of fresh milk because his cart broke down in front of the orphanage. In his spiritual journal, he said, “Now I saw, that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it… How different when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning, from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials, and the temptations of the day come upon one!” The word of God is our inner compass. It guides us in the right direction, and during the journey it gives us unspeakable joy when we obey it.

  

Prosperity (v. 3)

Thirdly, the word of God makes us prosperous. Verse 3 says, “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.” But the word “prosperity” here should not be confused with worldly success, fame, wealth, good health or long life. Biblical prosperity is closely linked to intimacy with God. In Genesis 39 Joseph was taken to Egypt and became a slave, but the Bible says, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered…” And again, Joseph was falsely accused and put into prison, but the Bible says, “The Lord was with him and whatever he did, he prospered.”

After the death of Moses, Joshua was desperate. Now he had to lead the people of Israel. He had to cross the Jordan River and conquer the Promised Land. But he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know where to start. He was hard pressed on every side, so he wanted to have some kind of practical guidance from God. Do you know what God’s answer was? In Joshua 1:8, the Lord says to Joshua, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” When we are lost in the desert of life, the best solution to find the way is to go back to the word of God.

One Year Bible Reading Plan

In Psalm 119:105 the Psalmist says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” In today’s term the Word of God is our spiritual GPS. I don’t know about you, but I always use GPS even when I drive in Houlton. What I like about GPS is when I take the wrong way, immediately it recalculates the best way from where I am to my destination. In the same way, the word of God diagnoses our spiritual health today. It shows us truth, exposes our rebellion, corrects our mistakes, and trains us to live God’s way (2 Tim 3:16). Saint Augustine was an early Christian theologian, and he is an inspiration to many who struggle with a particular vice or habit they long to break. Before his conversion he used to wander spiritually for many years. He spent his life in wicked living and in false beliefs. His inner compass was pride and worldly pleasure. One day Augustine was full of bitter sorrow, he went out into the garden and cried out to God, "How long more, O Lord? Why does not this hour put an end to my sins?" Just then he heard a child singing, "Pick up and read! Pick up and read!” He picked up the Bible and read Romans 13:13-14, “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” That word of God changed his life. He wrote, “at once, with the last words of his sentence, it was as if a light of relief from all anxiety flooded into my heart. All the shadows of doubt were dispelled” (Confessions 8:12). The word of God is able to show us the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus and to change our hearts and lives. 

Starting on January 1, 2015, we as a church will start a Bible reading program. This year we will read the New Testament first and then the Old Testament. It may sound childish, but quarterly I am planning to reward those who would complete the assigned reading. From January to March we will read the entire New Testament. For me personally my New Year’s resolution No.1 is to write the entire Bible in a year. My prayer is that as we read, mark, study, recite the Bible together, we may turn around from our ways, walk in God’s way with joy, and live a victorious life. Pick up and read, and you will live! Amen.