Broken Compass

Read 2 Kings 22

“When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.” v. 11

"Let me guess, and a broken compass."  These were the words used to describe the compass that Captain Jack Sparrow uses in the movies Pirates of the Caribbean.  Only it wasn't really broken.  In fact it worked perfectly fine, much like our internal compasses.  Captain Jack's compass didn't point north.  It pointed in the direction of the thing that he wanted most.  Which let's be honest, that's not always a good thing is it?  

We are often driven by internal compasses that direct us toward what we desire, knowing that what we desire isn't always in line with what God desires.

We establish our course settings and set sail, only to find ourselves caught up in tides of selfish behavior, self-indulgence, self-gratification, and self-justification.  Left to their own, our compasses always seem to point back to...self.  The longer we follow that direction, the more we get lost.

We lose our way!

In our story for today, the people of Judah had lost their way.  The compass that God had given them, His law and story had been misplaced.  No one appeared to be seeking God's direction!  The people of Judah did what they wanted, how they wanted it.  They lived by the Burger King motto, "Have it your way!"  That's the result of a life when we are left at the helm of our ship.

However, the story takes an unexpected turn.  Sifting through stuff in the temple, the King’s men stumbled upon the neglected, unused Word of God.  There in the mess lay the one thing that could redirect their lives.  When they read it to the King there was a sense of deep anguish, sorrow, and dare I say heartfelt conviction.  When the scriptures were discovered, King Josiah came face to face with the painful truth that they'd lost their way.  The “book” (God's compass) cuts to the heart of the community of faith and reveals to them the alternative trajectory of God’s divine plan. 

This is the power of discovering God's compass, daily.  Each day that we read the bible, we are in ways finding ourselves in the story of King Josiah.  We are abandoning our own course and choosing the path that God has set before us.  His Word points toward somewhere...toward a Kingdom of peace and justice, of mercy and compassion.  It is a Kingdom where we live giving ourselves away to others.  It is a Kingdom of deep reliance upon the Spirit of God to be the source of our existence.  It is a Kingdom that often puts us at odds with our "self" and the world in which we live.  This               re-discovery of God’s Word should move us to deep conviction, a desire to change, and anchor our lives in Christ and in God’s redemptive plan for this world. 

Pray with me...

Lord grant to me the desire to wake up every morning and “find the Word.”  Allow me to look truthfully at your story and see the ways that it is different from the world’s stories.  Give me the grace to center my life in your Kiingdom and the courage to face the conviction of seeing myself in the moments that I lose my way,