God’s Waze
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways.” declares the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8, NASB)
A few weeks ago, my wife and I packed up the car and headed from Maryland to Cape May, NJ, excited for a whale-watching trip. I checked the weather, loaded the luggage, and—as I always do before a road trip—opened Waze. It offered several routes, and I naturally chose the one with the fewest tolls. It made sense. It fit my way of thinking. Everything was orderly, predictable, and exactly how I planned it.
Waze got us there right on time. We checked into our beachfront hotel, bundled up for the chilly weather, and settled in. Everything was smooth—until the Nor’easter rolled in. A city official suggested we move our car to a higher level and wait out the storm. That seemed like a small inconvenience. But the next day, when things looked calm enough to explore, we discovered a very low pressured tire. In an attempt to get the tire repaired, we slowly drove out for help, we suddenly ran into something even Waze couldn’t guide us through: flooded roads everywhere. No rerouting. No turn-by-turn rescue. Just blocked paths in every direction.
Robert Burns put it perfectly: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” And as followers of Christ, this is the norm. God is not obligated to honor the routes we choose. He has His own “Waze,” and He has no problem redirecting us when our plans and His purposes don’t align.
That truth is woven deeply in Abraham’s life.
Abram, before his name was changed to Abraham, lived comfortably in Ur—surrounded by family, stability, and familiarity. Then God spoke and his life changed forever.
“Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you…I will make you into a great nation…and all the families on earth will be blessed through you.” (Gen. 12:1–3)
Abram left.
In that moment, three things stand out:
- God’s command — Leave
- God’s promise — I will make you a great nation
- God’s direction — His Waze
God didn’t give Abraham a full map—just a place to leave, a promise to trust, and a direction to walk. Abraham had to step out without clarity, without details, and without knowing how God would fulfill what He said.
Years later, after finally receiving the promised son, at the age of 100, Abraham faced yet another divine redirection when God told him:
“Take your son—your only son, Isaac, whom you love—and go to the land of Moriah… and sacrifice him there on a mountain I will show you.” (Gen. 22:2)
Again, no map. Again, no explanation. Again, only trust.
Because Abraham followed God’s Waze even when the road made no sense, Scripture remembers him as:
- Righteous (Gen. 15:6)
- Father of many nations (Rom. 4:11)
- A friend of God (James 2:23)
- A recipient of God’s promises (Heb. 11:17)
Abraham didn’t earn those descriptions by perfect behavior—he earned them through persistent trust. He walked forward with God when the route was unclear, when the instructions were hard, and when the destination was nowhere in sight. He followed God’s Waze long before satellites and cell towers, trusting the One holding the map rather than the map itself.
So how do we follow God’s Waze today?
It starts the same way it did for Abraham: by trusting the character of the One giving the directions. God may not always explain the detours. He may not show us the flooded roads ahead of time. But every redirection, every unexpected turn, and every closed path is shaped by His heart—and Scripture tells us clearly what His heart is:
God is love. (1 John 4:16)
His love does not mislead. His love does not abandon. His love never chooses the wrong route for us.
Our little Cape May trip reminded me that Waze may reroute us efficiently, but God reroutes us purposefully. And whenever our plans fall apart, His remain perfectly intact.
So when your tire goes flat, your path floods, or your expectations dissolve, remember: you can trust His Waze—even when it looks nothing like your own.
EM