Back in the day before GPS,
I’m certain those traveling drove in the wrong direction
at least once or twice in their lifetime.
Admitting why we were lost is a different story depending on who was retracing their steps.
We thought we knew the science of reading a map…
We were much too embarrassed to ask for directions…
We didn’t understand the compass…
We resisted our pride to turn around…
Years ago when courses where charted before a long trip of vacation, you put your directional trust in a map and a compass; never leaving home without them.
I flunked a hard lesson one year when my married sister and husband trusted this teenage sister for directions to a place I’d been many times before; a simple drive across states which should have only taken a few hours.
Confident in my back seat driving and feeling no need to consult the map, the adult behind the wheel continued to drive until finally he did an about face of direction after multiple hours passed beyond our time of arrival.
The joke is I almost took the family to the border of Canada because I saw no need to turn around and ask for help.
In the military when the command of ABOUT FACE is given,
A soldier turns 180 degrees from their position of standing at attention, causing a change of direction.
When the command of ABOUT FACE is given in the army of God, a soldier is called to repentance…
To turn around…
To change direction…
To have a change of heart…
To make a U-turn in their life…
Towards an almighty God…
Repent, then and turn to God…
Acts 3:19 NIV
Because…
The wages of sin is death,
But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 NIV
An about face most assuredly could save your life; a lesson learned at a child’s swim birthday party I attended three years ago with my toddler granddaughters.
Incognito as a lifeguard for those two year old ducks who call me Gaga, I ensured their safety as they swam and splashed among the other ducks in the in-ground pool.
With the birthday party about to begin, one of my granddaughters already seated at the table (minus her life vest), waited for the candles to be lit, as her mother helped nearby.
Holding my other wet granddaughter now wrapped in a warm towel baked by the afternoon sun, we walked over to see the chickens a distance from the pool.
Preoccupied with the bundle in my arms, I hadn’t notice nor had anyone else that granddaughter No. 2 left her seat at the table and now stood beside the edge of the pool to watch the older children at play.
Walking back to the party I panicked instantly after noticing my granddaughter and began to run frantically with the other in tow towards the child without her life-vest, calling out for her to TURN AROUND from the pool and run towards her mother.
TURN AROUND!!!
Unable to catch the attention of my preoccupied granddaughter, I screamed for my daughter to rescue her child.
Captured in slow motion and a replay I wish to forget, our little duck fell into the pool.
Within seconds, my granddaughter was safe in a mother’s arms after jumping in the pool for her, thankfully after turning around to see the danger.
ABOUT FACE…
A situation God calls us to turn around from…
To change direction…
To have a change of heart…
To make a U-turn in their life…
TO REPENT FROM…
To lament over; to grieve over; to ache over; to mourn over.
Repentance which can only be birthed from Godly sorrow of our sin.
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
2 Corinthians 7:10 NIV
ABOUT FACE…
A 180 degrees change in our position causing a new direction towards an Almighty God of abundant life; not death.
May we move quickly whenever the Commander orders our about face.
