The stereotype for men has long been that guy who refuses to stop and ask for directions. We know it all, or we’d like to think we do. Or we’d like others to think we know it all. But really, we don’t.

And the truth is simple: We need direction. We need direction for your own lives, but we also, desperately, need direction for our families. It’s essential, and without it, we run a very high risk of seeing our kids, our relationships, and even our own lives run off course.

In today’s world, direction is easy to find, at least in some ways. Want to know where a certain restaurant I when you’re in a strange town? Google Maps will tell you. Trying to find a friend’s new house? GPS works well. Want to know how far it is to Atlanta? It’s easy information to find these days.

Not too long ago, it was different, but still just as important. Before the days of GPS and Google, we had to use maps or a compass to navigate; and before that people used physical landmarks, or the sun and stars to find the right direction.

I love to hike. I really enjoy hitting the trail and going, and I have a goal to hike the entirety of the Ozark Trail in the next couple of years, one piece at a time. But if I start down the trail without a map or a compass, or a track on my GPS, it won’t be long before I veer off course and end up off the trail, and probably lost.

Direction is important.

It’s the same way in our lives as men. We need direction. For our own lives, in areas like our career, or our hobbies, or our personal fulfillment. We also need it in our roles as husbands and fathers. But such direction is something we have to be just as intentional about, just like on the trail or in the car. Because without it, we will surely veer off course.

So how do we find the direction we so desperately need? I believe that we find it in God’s Word, and in his will for our lives.

Let me share with you a couple of passages from the book of Proverbs. First is Proverbs 16:3:

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Also consider Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

The Lord provides direction for us. And the primary way we know what it is comes through diligent reading and study of the Scriptures. To be sure, he speaks in other ways, but the Bible is foremost in his communication to us. It lays out his will for our lives, and gives us the direction we need to be the men, the husbands, the fathers, he has created us to be.

The Bible lays out the course for godly manhood for us to follow. And if we don’t pay attention to it, we run the risk of veering off course. Staying on the proper course is much simpler when we pay attention to the directions.

So if you haven’t spent much time in God’s Word recently, I suggest that you grab your Bible and do so. Do it this weekend. And if you are looking for a plan to help you navigate through reading God’s Word, I give away a free ebook over on JeffRandleman.com. It has three different plans for getting through the Bible over the course of a year. I highly recommend that you grab this plan, or another one. There are a lot of great ones out there. But get one and start reading the guide God has given us to navigate through life.

Be intentional about the direction of your life!

Be deliberate, men!

What steps do you need to take to make sure you are headed the right direction as a man, a husband and a father? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.