HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
Our Spiritual Compass
What is a Compass?
One of the definitions of a compass is that it is “an instrument used for showing direction, especially one consisting of a magnetic needle swing freely on a pivot and pointing to the magnetic north.”
In many parts of the world, there is as much as 25 degrees difference between true north and magnetic north. Because of this difference, you must adjust the dial of your compass so that the magnetic needle points to true north. If you don’t make this adjustment to properly calibrate your compass, it will not point you in the direction you want to travel.
When the distance you travel is only a few feet the amount you will be off-course will not be readily noticeable. As you travel farther away, you will find you are going in a direction other than the one you intended.
In my part of the country where I currently live, I am not sure of the difference if there is of the magnetic north from the true north. Any difference can be a serious matter when travelling in an area unfamiliar to you. Even a difference of just one-half degree can become very important as you travel farther. This can easily be calculated mathematically using simple trigonometric functions for a right triangle. (To determine the length of the short side of a right triangle you multiply the sine of the opposite angle by the length of the long side.)
For illustration, we will use 23 degrees for the angle and one mile, or 5,280 feet, for the distance in our example. The sine of 23 degrees is 0.39073 multiplied by 5,280 equals 2,063.05. This means that if you travelled one mile you would find yourself 2,063 feet to the left or right of where you had intended to be. If you travelled one hundred miles, you would be 206,305 feet or 39 miles to the side of where you wanted to be. It is easy to see the importance of a proper adjustment of your compass to assure you will reach your intended destination.
Using that same formula, where your compass pointed only one-half degree from true north, you would find yourself 4,609 feet, or nearly one mile to the side of where you wanted to be after travelling 100 miles.
It is therefore easy to see how important it is for your compass to be properly adjusted for the disagreement between magnetic and true north.
Many people are aware that a compass is used for pointing you in the natural realm. What many do not understand is that we also need a “spiritual compass” to help us navigate in the spiritual realm.
What is a Spiritual Compass?
Our “spiritual true north” is the Word of God. It points us to Jesus. He is our destination and He is where our focus must be (John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.“). Our intellect and reasoning powers, along with worldly pressures are the “spiritual magnetic north” that can lead us away from our intended destination. A spiritual compass is as necessary an item for showing the direction in the realm of the spirit as a physical compass is in the natural world.
