Your word is a lamp before my feet and a light for my journey.
Reflection
If you’ve ever been camping somewhere remote at night, away from the city and all light, you know how dark it can be at night when there is no moon. Without a flash light, you pretty much stumble through the darkness, across uneven ground, not even certain you’re heading in the right direction. It’s easy to lose your way in the dark, and once you get lost , it’s not easy to find your way back to the path. I think the writer of this Psalm must have had this experience – of losing their way and blindly wandering off the path in the darkness of the desert wilderness, millennia ago.
We can relate to this experience and we understand the value of being prepared to see in the dark by bringing a light with us. One of the ways God’s grace prepares us to get through the darkness in our daily lives is by reading scripture. We are nourished by scripture during times when we’re hit hard, like a death of a loved one, divorce, getting fired, financial set backs, illness, or mental health struggles. Scripture sustains us when the daily grind wears us down. While these kinds of life issues can make us stumble, miss the path and leave us feeling lost and alone, God’s Word provides healing, forgiveness and hope.
That’s why we need God’s Word in our daily lives: to be prepared, so we don’t stumble around in the darkness. We need scripture to illuminate our way. Scripture is our light on the path in the dark, enriching our souls with joy and love. Scripture helps us overcomes fear, reassures us, instructs us, gives us hope, calls us to repentance and keeps us humble. Scripture is the light we hold high in the darkness so it can help lead others to find the path to God. Jesus said the Word of God is as vital to us as our daily bread. It feeds and sustains our souls. Scripture is the living, active, breath of God that lights our way and equips us to do good works.
by Jeneene Reduker
For Pondering & Prayer
Reading and learning scripture is vital to our growth in faith and our relationship with God. It is the light on our daily path. But it’s not enough to study the Bible if we aren’t going to do what it tells us to do – namely, to love God and love others. If we only read scripture, but don’t follow it, it’s useless, like not switching on the flashlight in the dark.
Jesus knew and quoted scripture when confronted by evil. He held it up as a lamp in the darkness when he spoke out in response to self righteous religious authorities and to the poor who hungered for hope and justice. Jesus is our example of a life of service and love, the living example of the Word of God, which we follow as his humble disciples, sharing the light with others.
What is your favorite scripture? How does it bring light to your daily walk? Can you remember a difficult time when you turned to scripture and God spoke to you, helping you find your way back onto the path?
Prayer: Loving God, thank you for your Word of scripture that brings light to our paths as we follow the living Word, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
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