Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. –Psalm 119:105
Have you ever thought about this verse? For years I just brushed over it thinking it had a nice ring, but never really considering what it meant.
Imagine walking in an unfamiliar field at night. There is no light; it is absolute darkness. You can’t see one foot in front of your face. There are rocks and bumps, jagged places and trees, even cliffs. There are wild animals and who knows what else. Close your eyes and consider this for a moment…
I have been in this position many times in my life and it is not comfortable.
Now think about the verse. How welcome would a light be?
A small light, just enough to see where you are stepping, is a great comfort. You can’t see the end of the road, but you can see your next step.
Does life seem to be like walking in the dark? It does to me. God’s word is that light that gets you to the next step. It may not show you the end of the path, but it will keep you on the safe path. That path may take you on the edge of a cliff, but as long as you have the light and stay on that path, you will make it.
Our Lord doesn’t promise easy; He promises direction. I encourage you to spend time in His word. If you don’t, you are fumbling your way in the darkness.
What a real life message this is!! Doesn't that ring true in your daily life, too? So often the Lord provides enough to take the next step and then, when we ask for more, He seems silent. That silence is really Him waiting for us to take that next step first, in faith. Then His light will go forward a step, too.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of when the Israelites finally stood ready to enter the promised land in Joshua 3,
"So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho.
"Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan."
The first time the people had come to impassible water, the Red Sea, God parted the waters first, and then the people crossed on dry land. But this time God required the priests to take that first step of faith of actually putting their fut in the water before God would move ahead of them to part the Jordan.
Growing their faith! And growing yours and mine, too, as we follow the light GOd sheds on our path, one footfall at a time.