A Light For My Path
If you have ever spent the night at a camp, you know they can be very dark at night. Camps are normally removed from the city so there is no light pollution. The idea is to get away from the places that cause you stress so you can decompress. Camps are isolated for a reason. I spent some time working at a resident camp that was far out in the country. One particular night, clouds covered the moon, and the air was thick with the threat of rain.
Three staff members and I had worked late that night at the ropes course which was on the back side of the camp. We didn’t have a vehicle and needed to get to the dining hall. As we stood there getting ready to leave, I suggested it would be faster to walk over the hill than to follow the road. We were about ¾ of a mile from the dining hall if we walked over the hill. If we followed the roads, we would have to walk 2 miles.
The route over the hill would require us to walk a trail that was narrow. The road would allow us to walk on a dirt road but increase our travel time. I recommended we go over the hill but some of the staff members objected to that plan. They said we couldn’t go that way “because we didn’t have lights.” We had walked the trail over the hill many times during the day. The objection was not to walking the trail but to walking the trail in the dark.
I do agree that the danger of the trail increased at night. The wildlife, snakes and terrain would all make the trip more difficult. The group decided to walk the road back to the dining hall even though they were all tired and it was more than twice the distance.
I opened my backpack and took out three flashlights and gave one to each of them. Now that they had lights, they all agreed to walk over the hill to the dining hall. The lights would light the path and illuminate the hazards that might cause them harm. It would allow them to place their feet on the safe part of the path. The light would shine on dangers that would lurk in the dark like snakes or cactus. Once they had a light in their hand, they were confident they could make the trip safely.
The bible talks about this in Psalm 119:105. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” The scripture is talking about our spiritual walk. It says that, just as the flashlight shone out in front of us as we walked to the dining hall revealing all types of hazards, so God’s Word the Bible will light our spiritual path and keep us safe.
When you approach a situation, the Bible will shine the light of truth on it a reveal it for what it really is. If it is good, then it will not mind the light of God’s word shinning on it. If the situation is bad, we can leave the bad environment and find a safer path. Look at John 3: 19-21, which says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
You do not have to stumble around in spiritual darkness. God has offered you the biggest spiritual spotlight ever. Some of you may have low spiritual batteries and a light that is burning low. God wants to recharge your light. If you spend some time talking to God and reading His word, your light will shine clear for all to see.
