Lighting our way

I have installed nightlights with motion detectors throughout my home. They permit me to get out of bed during the night and go anywhere in my house without having to turn on a light switch. Every time I get up and walk through the house, I remember Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

We often struggle to understand the will of God for our lives and where He is leading us. The Word of God (the Holy Bible) is the primary guide that God uses to lead us. Still we struggle because we want to know from the start what we are to do and how God is going to accomplish His purposes. That is not how God works.

Even though God knows “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10), He often chooses to not share the full details of His plans with us. When God delivered the Hebrew people from Egypt, they only knew He was taking them into the wilderness. He did not tell them the route they were going to take or the duration of their journey.

God wants us to look to Him on a daily basis for guidance and direction. In teaching us how to pray Yeshua (Jesus) instructed us to ask, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).

As I walk through my house, I marvel at the way the lights sometimes sense me at a various distances. Sometimes they go on when I am 10 feet away, other times I am nearly on top of them before the light goes on. In the same way, God may choose to light our way early on in a portion of our journey. Other times He tests our trust by waiting until the light is absolutely needed. However, He never is late and He will never allow us to stumble if we are following His direction.

Obedience to the Word of God is our surest guide. Psalm 19:8 tells us, “The commandment of Yehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Proverbs 6:23 echoes this truth, “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light.”

The Gospel of John tells us “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). He also describes Yeshua as “he true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man” (John 1:9). Yeshua is the “Word” we study. He lights our path when we are in relationship with Him.

Yeshua said, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12).

As we share the Gospel with a lost world, we give them the opportunity to walk in the light and not in darkness “believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light” (John 12:36). By fulfilling our commission we live up to what Yeshua said about us, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).