📍**“Recalculating Route…” – Hearing God’s Voice Before the Turn Is Missed*

📍**“Recalculating Route…” – Hearing God’s Voice Before the Turn Is Missed**

“For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts…”
— Psalm 95:7–8, NRSVUE

🚗 Ever Argued with Your GPS?

Let’s be honest.
We’ve all done it.

You’re driving along, the GPS is calmly instructing: “Turn left in 500 feet…”
But you—fully convinced you know better—say: “Nope. That’s not the way.”
You pass the turn. The GPS sighs (if it could):
“Recalculating…”

Now imagine for a moment that your GPS had feelings—and a holy purpose.
That’s a bit like the voice of God.

Psalm 95:7–8 is an invitation, a caution, and a promise—all packed into one holy sentence.
It speaks not only to ancient Israel wandering through the desert but to you and me—navigating spiritual deserts, emotional traffic jams, or the confusing backroads of life, belief, and belonging.

🎧 Today, If You Hear His Voice…

Let’s pause here.
This isn’t just poetic advice—it’s an urgent call.
Not tomorrow. Not after I’ve figured out my life. Not once I’ve healed from what happened at church.
Today.
That one word pierces.

Why? Because today is when faith begins.
Not once we’re perfect. Not once we understand it all.
Faith doesn’t wait for all the answers—it leans into the Voice.

And that Voice?
It’s not like a GPS barking directions.
It’s tender. Kind. Strong. Firm.
It doesn’t say, “You missed it forever.”
It says, “Recalculating… if you’ll listen.”

💔 Do Not Harden Your Hearts

Now that’s the tough part.
Because let’s be real—some of us have calluses on our hearts the size of a truck tire.
And for good reason:

• Some have been burned by church hurt—not by God, but by people using His name wrong.
• Some have never believed—religion just seemed like superstition with better costumes.
• Some believed once, but time, wounds, or logic hardened them.
• And some are curious but cautious—“What if I open up and get disappointed?”

Psalm 95 speaks to all of us.
It’s not a shout—it’s a whisper.
Like the GPS saying again: “Make a U-turn when possible…”

To harden your heart is like putting your fingers in your ears while someone who loves you is trying to help. It’s defensive. It’s protective. It feels safe—but it’s deceptive.
Because the longer we harden, the harder it becomes to hear anything at all.

🐑 We Are the People of His Pasture

This line brings it home:
“He is our God, and we are the people of his pasture…”

That’s not the voice of a drill sergeant.
That’s the voice of a Shepherd.

This Shepherd doesn’t drive sheep—He leads them.
He doesn’t yell from behind a pulpit—He walks beside broken people, even when they limp, even when they stray.

If you’ve left church, if your faith feels fractured, or you’ve never known what faith is supposed to look like—He’s still calling.
And His pasture?
It’s not fenced in by shame.
It’s surrounded by mercy.

🪟 An Analogy for the Heart: The Stubborn GPS

Let’s revisit our analogy.

Imagine your life as a long road trip.
God is the divine GPS—built in, always ready to reroute.

• First-time believers: Maybe you’ve just plugged Him in for the first time. Trust the route. It may look strange, but He knows the destination better than you ever will.
• Unbelievers: You may not trust the GPS at all. But what if the signal you keep ignoring is actually the one thing that can get you out of that endless loop?
• Church-hurt wanderers: Maybe you’ve turned the system off completely because a past route led you through treacherous terrain. But the Shepherd never stops recalculating. His signal hasn’t given up on you.
• The curious: Even if you’re only halfway willing to listen—His “voice” still says, “I’m here. Ready when you are.”

Every time you pass the turn, He doesn’t scream.
He doesn’t punish.
He simply invites again:
“Recalculating… Please take the next available U-turn.”

🔑 Faith is the Key in the Ignition

You can’t follow directions from a GPS that’s unplugged.
Faith isn’t blind—it’s the key in the ignition.
It’s what turns on your spiritual sensitivity.
Not perfection. Not answers. Just faith.

God doesn’t demand you know the entire journey—just that you trust the One giving directions.

😄 Something Light to Carry

Okay, time for a smile.

A toddler once grabbed a GPS device and kept shouting into it:
“I SAID TURN LEFT!”
The GPS, undisturbed, calmly replied:
“In 1,000 feet, turn right.”

Moral of the story: You can shout all you want, but truth doesn’t panic.
God’s voice isn’t reactive—it’s redemptive.

🛐 Final Thought & Invitation

God’s voice is not far from you.
It’s not buried in ritual.
It’s not locked behind theology.
It’s available today.

Whether you’re on your first step, turned away long ago, or just wondering if this “God-thing” is real—Psalm 95:7–8 is your sign:
He’s speaking. Don’t shut down. Open up.

🙏 A Prayer for Today

Lord, today I choose not to harden my heart.
Whether I’ve known You for years, never trusted You, or have been hiding behind pain—speak to me again.
Let me hear You—not with fear or pressure—but with peace and clarity.
I turn my heart toward You again.
Thank You for never giving up on me.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

📖 Benediction:

May the God who still speaks cause His voice to rise above the noise in your life.
May your heart remain soft, your ears open, and your steps guided by faith.
As you journey forward, may you never forget that His mercy recalculates,
His love reroutes, and His grace never loses signal.

Go now, not in fear, not in doubt, but in full assurance—
that if you hear His voice today, He is near.
May your heart be a pasture for His peace,
your path a response to His call,
and your life a living “yes” to the One who never gives up on you.

In the name of the Shepherd, our God, who walks with the willing—Amen.

Grace & Peace
Dr. John Roberts THD