A compass, no matter what direction we turn, always points us to the north pole—a destination most of us will never teach in this lifetime. In that way, a compass makes a good metaphor for our spiritual lives and the work of discerning God’s will for us.
Many times I wish God spoke as clearly and as obviously as MapQuest or Google Maps or a GPS. But God doesn’t. Maybe that’s because we don’t navigate the life of faith via anything remotely resembling a GPS. Instead the divine compass points us to our spiritual true north—the mind and love of God. Our sacred compass operates in our souls and calls us to life with God—life abundant and adventurous, even when we wish living was less of an adventure. The sacred compass leads us on a life of pilgrimage—a hike to wholeness and holiness.
In pointing us always to God, the compass helps us with our soul’s deepest question, What am I supposed to do with my life? The question of how to live our lives especially presses on those of us who sense we are not merely humans trying to be spiritual, but are deeply spiritual beings endeavoring to live as fully human.
Everyday begins with that “what” questions. We wake up each morning with a cavalcade of choices before us—beginning with whether or not to get up. Things get more complicated from there. The very act of making a choice—any choice– shows us that our lives are more than our own. We belong to ourselves, but we also belong to others—our family, our neighbors, our pets, our coworkers. Most of all, we belong to God.
Discovering spiritual direction is simple—but in an amazingly countercultural and counterintuitive way. It is about heeding the Holy Spirit. Learning to follow the divine compass means stopping and paying attention instead of looking for a magical map with the shortest route highlighted in yellow. Learning what God wants for us means letting the Holy Spirit guide us in to the deep places of our souls. We learn to look for God in those deep places and in all the places our lives take us.
When we travel through life attentive to the sacred compass, we find that God’s direction changes us. We discover that spiritual discernment is about sensing the presence and call of God, and not just about making decisions. The process of following the sacred compass awakens us to a life of constant renewal of our hearts, minds, wills, and souls.
This renewal moves us deep into personal transformation. And as we change, we also change the lives of the people around us, and ultimately, the world. Such transformation is not accomplished by following a pre-published route mapped out in The God’s Will Guidebook. Rather, true transformation happens when we let the map (and any idea of a map) flutter from our tight grasp and instead begin to use the sacred compass that God provides—the compass of the Holy Spirit’s work within us.