I have a lot of hair. It’s thick and long and a process to blow dry after its been washed. However, if I want my hair to behave, then I must not skip any steps! A hair dryer is not a necessity to live, but mine greatly improves my life!

Not all hair dryers are the same. Some of you may can relate. (If not, then please just stick with me anyway; I’m going somewhere deeper than hair with this!) I have tried so many different dryers from every make and model and every newest function and ionic-whatevers. I found that the newest, flashiest model did not necessarily do the best job. I would find a great one, only to have it quit on me later. I needed something dependable, solid, that I knew would not let me down. My Dry Bar Buttercup hair dryer is just that.

When I travel, I carry my travel-size hair dryer with me, because I know that without out, I am guaranteed to have some serious bad hair days while I’m away from home.

We try any and every new shiny thing that promises to bring us joy, instead of just sticking with what we KNOW works. Sometimes hair is no different from life. We put our trust in the world to give us smooth locks and joy and end up with tangles and frizz.

We must put our trust in God to provide and take care of our every detail, from our hair to our future.

The world is constantly producing the newest, greatest thing with empty promises of unending joy and satisfaction and lifetime guarantees, but those things never deliver.

We need something we can depend on for our entire lives. Not just today, not just for one season, not just for one year, but for an entire lifetime. God is that answer!

Just like a hair dryer, we must take God with us everywhere we go. Please note, I am not suggesting that you find a travel-sized God; there is no such thing! He’s one-size-fits-all and mighty and not to be squeezed into your carry-on. However, I am suggesting that you purchase a travel-sized Bible to carry with you, or perhaps download a Bible app on your phone!  Just like traveling without my hairdryer invites bad hair days, leaving home without God invites a bad day period!

Remember the Israelites? The ones that Moses led out of slavery in Egypt? The ones who wandered in the desert for 40 years in route to the Promised Land?

God provided for the Israelites from the moment their journey began.

“And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar… did not depart from before the people.” – Exodus 13:21-22, ESV

God had already planned the trip from Egypt to the Promised Land. Everything was mapped out, meals planned; they could not have asked for a better tour director! The journey under God’s direction is going so well, until the people decided to leave God behind. They no longer need His guidance or protection once the flashy world caught their eyes.

In the South, we say ‘the grass always looks greener on the other side.’ For the Israelites, the sand must have looked lusher on the other side that was not under God’s guidance. Their choice to journey without God resulted in quite a delay! God set them to wander in that desert for 40 years because of their stubborn disobedience.

“And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them… I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.'” – Exodus 32:7-9, ESV

God tells Moses the people have ‘corrupted themselves! They have turned aside quickly from His ways!’ Halfway through the journey, they decided they could plan the trip better than God had. They attempted to desert God and change His travel plan, but instead, they traded a direct journey to the Promised Land for a 40-year delay in the desert. The supposed upgrade the world offered them was a scam, nothing more than a downgrade!

There are no direct flights for the disobedient, no upgrades for the ungodly.

Each day we live is a journey. We have the choice to be stubborn travelers or smart travelers. Be smart! Choose obedience and travel with God! He guarantees a good journey!

The encouraging words of the LORD to Joshua before they entered the Promised Land: “…Do not turn from [my Law]… This [Book] shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success… Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:7-9, ESV

ESV = English Standard Version Bible