All of us need direction from time to time. Doing our own thing can be detrimental. Interestingly enough, the individuals mentioned in the Bible had many flaws. Here are some examples:

David ordered a loyal soldier to be killed so that he could sleep with the soldier’s wife.

Adam was a blame shifter, showing no compassion towards his wife.

The first-born human was a murderer (Cain).

Noah was a drunk.

Abraham allowed two men to walk off with his wife.

Sarah allowed Abraham to sleep with another woman.

Job had a nagging wife.

Rebekah is the first mail order bride.

Rachel was kleptomaniac.

Moses had a terrible temper.

Aaron built an idol.

Miriam hungered for power.

Samson had a disloyal wife that resulted in his suicide.

The priest Eli had sons who were immoral.

The list could go on and on. The heroes from the past were not without blemishes. Many of them had erred and lost their way. The good news, many of them returned to God for forgiveness.

Are we heroes? I truly doubt it. We humans tend to wander away, but just like the prodigal son, our Heavenly Father welcomes us back.

However, there is a breed of human-kind who consider themselves heroes. We know them by the name of “religious”. They truly believe that they are in the right, even though they show no compassion, no genuine love. They forget what Jesus said: “Forget them. They are blind men leading blind men. When a blind man leads a blind man, they both end up in the ditch.” Matthew 15:14 (MSG)

Truly, there is but one hero: The One who never sinned. Jesus the Christ, who died for us, so that we could experience eternity. The One who forgives. The One who could be called the Compassionate. He loved us so much that, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV). He is compassionate. He is love!

The only real hero is the One who offers real life. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 (NIV) Anyone else are far from being a real hero.

Still, we need directions. Many look left and right for these directions, but truly all we need to do is ask. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matt 7:7, NIV2) This is what we did when we were lost in Alcaniz, Spain.

We had walked quite a bit, exploring the beauty of this city, but the sun was setting, and we had taken a wrong turn (Typical human!). Luckily, Alcaniz has a lot of lights in the streets, but we were still lost.

A man in his mid-twenties was heading towards us. He had numerous tattoos and had a short t-shirt. He looked tough. We were in an area where poverty and graffiti reigns, but it didn’t stop us from asking for his help. And help he did offer. Even though he only spoke Spanish and our Spanish is nearly nonexistent, we were soon on the right road, and thanks to him, we found our hotel without further difficulties.

If a tough guy can give us perfect directions, why would our loving Father not give us directions? After all, we are the apple of his eye: “For whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye.” Zechariah 2:8c (NIV) Why are we so resistant to asking directions?

Once my dad was lost while driving with my mom to our place. It was dark, and my mom was complaining. “I know my way!” He assured her. After more than an hour, he eventually found our place. He could have been there in 10 minutes!

Asking is an opportunity to experience our Heavenly Father.

“I am lost! Can you help me?”

Rob Chaffart


(To access the entire “The Helpless Heroes and the Vindictive Prideful” devotional series, please click here.)