Once more into the dreaded world of Dear Abby we find someone who was asking the most basic and simple question about what to do. The topic isn’t even important, but the fact that a person is writing to a stranger and exposing to the public his or her unbelievable ignorance about the most basic social skills and etiquette just shows, again, how totally lost people are in this world.

How do I talk to people? What do I do if someone says something mean to me? I am in another bad relationship, why does this keep happening to me?

When you walk into a forest, and it is thick with thorn bushes, nasty little reptiles and arachnids, and all sorts of ways to get lost, you need to have a way to maintain your direction through that maze of misdirecting pathways. And, before you even enter the forest, you should have some idea of where you want to go.

Many, many people don’t. They seem to be lost before they even start to walk. That’s why we need a compass. Not GPS, because that is technology and technology fails. A compass is analog, it is a piece of metal that will always be a piece of metal, and it works on magnetic fields, which will always be here. It is dependable, it is something you can always have with you, and it is not all that hard to work with. Determine which direction you want to go (it’s called an Azimuth, and is measured in degrees. East is 90, west is 270, etc.), set the azimuth needle to that azimuth on the bezel ring (that’s the outer ring that turns, and has 360 serrations on the edge, each representing one degree of a circle); hold the directional needle in front of you so that it is pointing straight ahead,  and then turn your body until the main needle points North. So long as you keep that main needle on “N”, you are walking in the direction you want to go.

The compass we use in the military helps us stay on track and get to our final destination, but in life there is no piece of equipment that can do that. However, we still have a dependable compass to get us through our lives, and keep us on track. It is the Word of God. We need to keep it always in front of us, always watch our steps to make sure we are pointing in the right direction, and study the Word, every day.

What do I do when someone says something mean to me? Check the compass- it says the way to go is to forgive them, and keep walking.

Why am I always getting involved in bad relationships? Check the compass- you are walking in the wrong direction. Your azimuth is pointing to your selfish desires, to wrongful ways to act instead of pointing to God’s pathway. And you are trusting people instead of trusting God. You look to people to set your azimuth instead of God, and they are just as lost as you are. Yeshua tells us that when the blind lead the blind they both fall into a hole. Don’t let a blind person be your leader.

Why don’t I feel loved and happy? It’s because you don’t know where you are going, and you haven’t decided on a path to take. Even walking in the wrong direction, if you ask God to lead you back, you will find the way you need to go. People only love themselves, but God loves each of us. Know His love first, then you will know how to love others. Stop looking for someone to love you and be loving to others. When you know what real love is (because you know God’s love- gentle, honest but not doting or enabling) then you will be able to recognize dependable love in your life, and God’s compass will lead you to a fulfilling and meaningful relationship.

Let God’s Word, which is who God is and what He wants from us, be your compass through life. It’s a tough walk, and often you do end up going off the straight and narrow road, sometimes just to avoid a major obstacle. But when you know where you need to be, and you have that compass right there in front of you, you can always get back to the right pathway. Some people walk one road, some another, but so long as the road points to God then you are all going in the direction you need to go. Don’t judge someone else because they are on a different path- you never know when you may find yourself climbing a steep hill, or on a rocky road, or stuck knee-deep in mud!

So just walk your path, keep the compass in front of you and watch your step.  I guarantee if you do this, you will find peace and comfort during your walk, and your needle will point you to salvation.