I was speaking with someone who told me she and her husband brought unlocked phones to Mexico and then activated them with a Mexican phone number. This was so they would have local phones while on vacation.
Later I asked my husband what an unlocked phone was. He told me that with certain cellular providers the phone purchased through them could only be activated on their network. This was a locked phone. If the phone was unlocked it could be activated by any provider, even one in a different country.
We went on to discuss how God has, in effect, given us unlocked lives. Instead of demanding that everyone only follow his strict set of rules, he has given us free will to make our own decisions.
The decisions I make on my own are not always the right ones. Sometimes I’m aware of this while making them. Being stubborn, I persevere, wanting to prove I can do it on my own.
When I stumble and fall, which is often the case, God is there to pick me up and set me on my feet again. He does not force me but gently reminds me that his ways are better than my own.
My keeping my heart and mind locked on him my life has far more meaning and purpose than when I am unlocked and charting my own course.
The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. (Psalm 25:8 NLT)