Charted

What is Charted?

Like a master surveyor, Jesus gives us clear directions to find a fulfilling, purpose-filled relationship with Himself - a map to the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Charted is a daily devotional written by the junior class at Fountainview Academy (Class of 2019). Based on the book Steps to Christ, this book explores the path to the Originator and Provider of Genuine Joy. We don't have to be confused about the way. The certainty is in the journey: divinely Charted.

The difficulty lies solely in the weakness and narrowness of the human
mind. – Steps to Christ, pg. 106
I scurried down the dimly lit hallway, my suitcase chasing me
as footsteps pounded beside me. 309, 310, 312? Where on earth is
our room? Pausing in mid-step, I bumped into my tiny roommate for
the night. Both of us let out a small screech of surprise, the sound
echoing in the ghostly stillness, before slapping a hand over our lips.
I hastily apologized before we continued on our mission: finding room
311 in the creepy corridor. After three frantic laps up and down the hall,
we finally spotted it. With an exhausted sigh, I inserted the card into
the door and pushed on the handle. Dismay filled me as a red light
blinked in our faces. I anxiously tried again and again, verbally abusing
the stubborn door that refused to budge. The tiny Chinese script on
the card did little good to save us from the ex-convicts we were sure
hid lurking behind a handful of dusty plants lining the dirty walls. After
another five minutes of anxious banging, the stubborn door finally
yielded and we burst into the rancid-smelling room. The stench of
smoke, dead cows, and another unidentified odor attacked us. But jet
lag had thoroughly numbed our five senses, so upon seeing the beds,
I ran and launched myself onto one of them.
“Owwww!” I screamed, my back burning from my impact on
the bed—only it wasn’t a bed. It was more like a box of bricks covered
with cheap Chinese bedsheets. Marissa stood at the foot of her bed,
laughing at my predicament as she asked, “Is it really that hard?” A few
seconds later she realized why I had emitted such an unearthly howl.
“This place is so ghetto,” she commented as I nodded in agreement.
After what seemed like hours of tossing and turning, we finally fell into
an uneasy slumber.
The next morning, we awoke refreshed—our frontal lobes
fully intact once again. This time, as we walked to breakfast, the halls
didn’t seem as terrifying as they had the night before. Sure, the plants
were half dead and rotting, the walls were dusty and faded, but the exconvicts
had mysteriously vanished. That night, Satan knew we were
at one of our weakest points. To distract us from the mission that had
brought us to China in the first place, he tried to scare us into believing
his lies. However, after being refreshed in the presence of God, our
weaknesses were transformed by His strength.