As a truck driver I use GPS (Global Positioning System), but do I fully trust it? Absolutely not and no one should! GPS was developed by the US military in the late 1970s. In the late 1990s the system came into widespread private use and GPS units went on sale to the public. The first units were very basic, but now in 2019 you can purchase extremely advanced units that do much more than just tell you where you are and plan your trip. They keep track of excess speed, rough driving, and service details of your vehicle, and some include the ability to link to dashcams and rear vision cameras.
One of the first things I purchased when I began driving trucks was a GPS unit. My first couple of units were basic small vehicle units, but eventually I purchased a good quality “trucker specific” GPS unit. Its programmed to know the size of my truck, including the height, and also the maximum weight I carry. It knows how many trailers I haul and using that information against the information that is built into it, the unit is supposed to plan my route in the quickest, legal way possible.
Note that I said supposed to plan, because that function is still certainly a work in process, especially in Canada! I drive exclusively in the Canadian Prairies and oftentimes my GPS will try to route my huge semi-truck down a dirt road that I wouldn’t even consider taking my personal vehicle down, and that is a problem!
Why these drivers even attempted those roads is beyond me, but then again if you read my State of the Industry post you should understand! I belong to a number of forums that discuss trucking issues and incidents like the above are commonplace, and 90% of the time it is due to drivers blindly following their GPS units without thinking about the consequences. GPS must be considered as a tool and not all powerful knowledge. Before starting out on a trip a driver (whether commercial driver or in private vehicle) should know the route they’re taking, consult a map and use GPS only as a reminder. In my truck I carry large maps of three provinces I drive in, three large map books that break down the areas into single back roads, a smartphone equipped with Google Maps, and a GPS unit. Using all of the items together solves a lot of problems. The large maps get me from point A to point B. The backroads maps get me down the correct roads as I approach my destination. The smartphone allows me to zoom in on my destination to see what I’m getting into before I arrive, and the GPS performs a few functions including displaying my speed, ETA, traffic conditions, weather and routing. But the final choice on routing is always mine! Relying on GPS blindly is stupid and a recipe for disaster!
But there is a GPS unit available to everyone, that is 100% correct all the time, it knows the direction you need to go before you know where you’re going, and will get you there on time, without leading you astray! That GPS unit is contained within The Bible. The Bible is your guide book, (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth). God has provided us with the instructions that we need to reach our eventual destination, eternal life in Heaven with all the saints. In John 14:6, Jesus tells us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man commeth to the Father, but by me.” Jesus is your GPS as you navigate through life.
He will not lead you astray because He is the way, He will not lie to you because He is the truth, and He will lead you to your ultimate destination because He is the life. From the moment of creation God had a plan for us, and He was providing the routing for us to complete that plan. He provided us with a GPS unit that is infallible! We just need to seek it out and find it. And once you begin to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, you will never take the wrong path!
Your earthbound, man-made GPS may have faults and you may have to questions its choices and decisions, but God’s GPS is perfect and will not lead you to the wrong destination.
God Bless.
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