Compass Thoughts // Moriah Nelson

I have several thoughts from reading “Thoughts” (yes, I appreciate that broad title, Pascal) this week. Two statements that really stood out to me were, “Let us then take our compass; we are something, and we are not everything.” (438) and, “…learn from your Master your true condition, of which you are ignorant. Hear God.” (442) Throughout the context of this article and then looking closer at these statements, I think it’s very interesting to see how Pascal essentially implies that we must be very thoughtful and consider how we will live our lives and yet still knows that ultimately, God knows us better than anyone (including ourselves) and we have to go to Him for true guidance.
What might be the compass that Pascal tells us to take to guide us? Could this be individualized or in actuality, can God be our compass? I think we can rely on God and His Word to be our compass (and I think Pascal would probably agree) because we know that there is more than just us in existence and that a Higher Being is at work and yet we still have so much to learn even about ourselves (both soul and body). When we look to God to be our compass, we will see more clearly our “true condition” and will be led to repentance and rejoicing because of God’s grace and mercy. We will better know ourselves, our tendencies, and our purpose in life when we don’t solely rely on our thoughts and intuition for our direction in life. When we look to God, we see a sure purpose and clear way we can find peace and reconciliation with God. We truly have a sure and trustworthy compass.
I commented on Hannah and Anna Grace's blog posts.

Comments

Madison Flowers said…
Great post Moriah! God is the only place we can look to truly find ourselves and our direction. He is the source of true wisdom, and as you said, He is the only place we can turn to for true guidance.
Gabby Strahan said…
I love your post, its topic is so prevalent to our modern culture that encourages self discovery and self awareness, through "finding ourselves." Scripturally speaking this should not be our goal because our individual cores are selfish, sinful, and prone to deception. We should be driven to be in constant pursuit of Jesus' heart in order to stretch our sinful nature to become more like HIm. Seeking our creator who designed our every detail and yes, does know our hearts better than even us is for more promising than going to ourselves as our primary resource in achieving guidance.