Colonel Henry (Hank) Potter served our country during WWll, as did thousands of other soldiers. What made Colonel Potter famous was him being the navigator for the lead bomber of Doolittle's Raiders, 16 bombers which bombed Tokyo, Japan, in April, 1942. The success of the mission proved that America could prevail against Japan's Imperial forces. As navigator, Col. Potter's job "..was to plot a course and to give corrections to that course to the pilot during the flight and to keep account of time and distance and wind drift corrections as best he could.'', the standard description for all navigators at the time.

Hank Potter's job was to keep that lead B-25 bomber, piloted by James Doolittle, on its designed course, making necessary adjustments along the way. Without Col. Potter's expertise, the mission would have likely failed. Thank God for good navigators. In 2000, our youngest son, Jonathan, got to meet Col. Potter, then 82. What a treat when Jonathan was able to get his picture taken with this WWII hero. Col. Potter died in 2002.

Having the right navigator in life is of utmost importance. One who knows the way to your destination; one who can be counted on to make course corrections, as needed. I have found life's best navigator to be God Himself, in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Only He knows which way I should go (Isaiah 48:17), as well as how to navigate my life as I go.

A lot of people apparently have the idea that becoming a Christian means giving up control of our life; everything's up to God. We're nothing more than righteous robots.

Righteous, yes; robots, no. Everyone, Christians included, has a choice. We can choose to live our lives our way; we can be the navigator of our own destiny. Some choose to do their own navigating when things are going well; crying out for guidance when things get rough. Some of us, though, have chosen the Holy Spirit to be our Navigator, in every situation.

God, through the Holy Spirit, wants to be our navigator each step of every day. God has a plan for each of our lives and, to be quite frank, is the only one who knows how to fulfill that plan. Only God knows where the bumps, turbulence, and other dangers are. But God's also a gentleman; He won't make us go somewhere or do something we don't want to do.

Those 80 men on that daring raid over Tokyo put a lot of trust in the hands of Colonel Hank Potter, trust that proved to be justified. How can we, as individuals, do any less in putting complete trust in the Navigator for each of our lives? God, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, won't let us down; He won't lead us astray. He'll nudge us when it's time for "course" corrections. He won't fail us; He'll be our safe Guide in and through every storm.

If only we'll let Him.

As a Christian is God, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, your Navigator? Is He the One Who both "plotted" the right course for you, and is being allowed to lead you to its destination?

If not, what's keeping you from saying, "Holy Spirit, You're my Navigator. I yield to Your guidance." If the Holy Spirit is your Navigator, how beneficial is that guidance?