Compass

My dad and I were out in the woods bow hunting. He showed me a good spot to set up and pointed out a solid tree I could climb using my old‑style tree stand. Back in the 70s, a tree stand was nothing fancy—just a wooden platform and a metal bar that wrapped around the tree. You hugged the trunk, pulled your knees up toward your chest, stood up, and repeated the process. It was simple, quiet, and didn’t harm the tree. Before long, you could be ten or fifteen feet in the air.

Once I climbed up and settled in, I pulled out my compass to check the direction I’d need to walk to get back to my dad’s truck. The compass pointed left—but my mind insisted the truck was to the right. All afternoon I sat there arguing with that compass, convinced it had somehow broken.

I finally decided that when the day ended, I would climb down and simply wait by the tree until my dad came to get me. That way I wouldn’t get lost—and I could prove to my compass that I was right.

But when my dad arrived and we started walking back, sure enough, we had to go left… exactly the direction the compass had been telling me all along.

In our Christian walk, there are moments when we don’t know which direction to go. Our thoughts, feelings, and instincts can argue with us, pulling us toward what seems right in our own understanding. In those moments, it’s okay to stop, be still, and wait for the One who truly knows the way. Jesus is our unfailing guide. If we ask Him to come, to lead, and to show us the right path, He will. He will walk with us, steady us, and make sure we get home.

1. Where in your life right now do your feelings pull one way while God’s Word points another?

2. What would it look like for you to “wait by the tree” and let Jesus come lead you?

3. How has God guided you in the past when you felt unsure of the right direction?