Our Light in the Dark

Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. I have solemnly sworn to keep Your righteous judgments. - Psalm 119:105-106

I was once in the shower, in a bathroom with no windows, when the lights went out. By God's grace, I didn't break my neck trying to get some light. Let's just say that it's difficult to navigate in total darkness.

Do you have any idea where your life is headed? It seems like sometimes I know, but then again at other times I don't have a clue. There have even been times when the path seemed sure, but God intervened, dramatically, and everything suddenly changed. One truth I have gleaned through all of these "changes" is that God's Word is able to provide guidance if the road seems a little (or a lot) difficult, uncertain, or dark.

I love what the author has expressed for us above. He seems to be saying that since God's Word is a lamp and a light, he has decided in his heart to keep the Lord's righteous judgments. He is making a conscious decision to hang on to the "light" that God has so graciously provided. The next verse even reveals that he knew such a commitment would be hard to keep. because he then said, "I am severely afflicted; Yahweh, give me life through Your word."

Sometimes the way seems clear and unhindered. Most of the time, it probably isn't. God's Word can help us navigate, but should we stumble (suffer affliction and even fall) there is life and renewal with Him. No one carries a flashlight in the daylight, but everyone agrees that it is a valuable tool in the darkness. No less valuable is the light of God's truth in the darkness of this world. Keep it handy.

If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning. - C. S. Lewis