To use the expression of “losing your bearings” is the idea of a loss of an orientation toward what was once a reality. Other ways to say it is that someone “lost their way.”
Your bearings comprise your orientation toward who you are and what is you are supposed to be doing.
Biblical Bearings then are who you are in Christ and what it is He has called you to do in relation to that.
Keeping a balance in whatever situation you are in can be an important part of not losing your Biblical Bearings.
The Bible says that we all like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6) and that all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Jesus, however, never went astray. Another way to say it is that Jesus never lost His Biblical Bearings.
He maintained a Father-Son Orientation that made sure He stayed in right relationship with the Father above all. He never did (John 5:19) or said anything (John 12:49) that He did not see or hear the Father doing.
Jesus was always in the right place at the right time. He was doing the right thing in the right way. It would be just as easy to say “righteous” in place of "right" in these two previous sentences. He maintained a perfect orientation to the Father in regard to wherever He was and whatever He was doing. And not just where He was and what He was doing, but he also maintained perfect submission to how He was doing those things.
Except for Jesus going before us to show the way, it would seem impossible for us to maintain our Biblical Bearings in any and all situations. We are not alone, though. He went before us as the firstborn of many brethren (Romans 8:29). He suffered at the merciless hands of sinners and never retaliated. The Apostle Peter put it like this:
“...Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” 1 Peter 2:21-23 NIV
Jesus suffered for sins he never committed. He suffered for being in the right place at the right time and saying what He heard the Father saying and doing what He saw the Father doing.
If we are suffering, the first question to ask is this: Am I where God has called me to be? The second question follows to say this: Am I doing what God has called me to do? And the third question is also important to not overlook: Am I doing what God has called me to do IN THE WAY that He is asking me to do it?
If you find yourself out of sorts today, check your Biblical Orientation. It is possible to be off track in either where you are, what you are doing, or how you are doing it. When your bearings are off, thankfully, He does not leave us stranded. He promises to give us mercy and grace in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
Once you allow the word of God, highlighted by His Holy Spirit, to reorient you in your Biblical Bearings, you can start again.
We start again first in our identity. Identity is the first source of God reorienting who you are. The prodigal son returned home in the parable told by Jesus, and the first thing the Father did was to reorient him and everyone else to who the son was–He was HIS SON that was lost but he returned home. He was reoriented in his identity as a son.
He wasn’t put back to work. There was no lecture on what he did wrong. No, it was a party. They celebrated him returning home (Luke 15:24). When we lose our Biblical Bearings even in the slightest fashion and return to our Father, He embraces us and calls out, “Hey! Look whose back on track!"
And God does have a track. It is the Father who is working in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Once we get our Biblical Bearings to WHO we are–in whatever the situation may be–we can then ask WHAT do you have for me Father? WHAT are you working in me to do?
(It is very important to not get these two out of sequence. If I am disoriented or distorted in WHO I am as a blood-bought child of God, the WHAT I do is also going to be out of kilter. Start with WHO, then let the Father work out the WHAT.)
The challenge is to check your Biblical Bearings in any and all circumstances. We can lose our bearings by being in the wrong place at the wrong time and taking the wrong action (like David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11). That is missing it in every way possible.
David cried out to God when confronted for the sins he committed, which was captured as a prayer in Psalm 51. Psalm 51 is a powerful prayer to get back our Biblical Bearings after a tragedy like David’s sin caused, or at any level of sin we find ourselves falling short.
We can find ourselves losing our Biblical Bearings in a variety or ways, kind of like it is on a spectrum, with the example of David above being on the far end of one side of the spectrum. Going way to the other side of the spectrum, Jesus reoriented his own family as to their Biblical Bearings when they tried to interrupt Him from ministering (Matthew 12:46-50).
This is an example of civilians rolling in and trying to interfere with what a soldier has been instructed to do. Paul said that a soldier does not entangle himself with civilian affairs (2 Timothy 2:4). As previously highlighted, Jesus was always in the right place at the right time and operating in the right way. So, when his family came to interrupt Him, He was not about to lose His Biblical Bearings.
As a matter of fact, He reoriented everyone by saying, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:48-50 NIV
He did not lose His Biblical Bearings when his family came to disrupt what He was doing. People (friends/family, etc.) may think they are operating in the best of intentions when they try to step in and reorient you toward what they think you should be doing. Your “WHY” has to be stronger than their “TRY.” Other people can TRY to redirect you, but when the Father has firmly established His WHY in your spirit, they will not be able to. But, you may have to lay down a boundary just like Jesus did. If this is the case, ask God for how to do that. When God places you in a situation beyond your normal reach, know that it is not out of His reach. His hand is there to guide you through it. Pause. Ask God for guidance. You will hear Him (Isaiah 30:21).
Be clear. God has a clear purpose and intent. He never abandons you when you are disoriented. His calling will not change. His giftings will not be taken back. Call out to Him.
Simply ask today, “Father, have I in any way gotten out of sorts in HOW you are asking me to operate? The next question is “Father, have I gotten off track in WHAT it is I am doing?” The final question is, “Father, have I wound up in a place (WHERE) I should have never been in the first place?”
(These questions can be asked in any order. The purpose of highlighting all of them is for the Father to reorient us toward being in the RIGHT PLACE, at the RIGHT TIME, doing the RIGHT THING, in the RIGHT WAY. “Right” being a shortened version of “righteous.” Hunger and thirst for righteousness (in all of these things), and it will bring a satisfaction like no other. Matthew 5:6)
No matter the circumstance, don’t lose your Biblical Bearings. If you do, simply come back to the Father and ask for a change of mind/heart. Simply say, “Father, would you help get my Biblical Bearings? I simply want to be obedient to you in every way."
Amen and amen
