A Lamp to My Feet
One of the many perks to being a pastor’s wife, especially one who writes, is that I get the opportunity to steal ideas from my husband. He was preaching at our young adult ministry recently and one of his points sent my wheels turning.
We are working our way through the book of Judges, each week talking about a different judge. This past week we landed on Gideon, and Taylor talked about how Gideon, instead of immediately obeying God’s call, he asked a lot of questions — Why did this happen? Where are the miracles? Didn’t you bring us out of Egypt? How can I do this? Gideon questioned God’s plan because, for some reason, human nature demands to know all the answers.
Think about how many times God has given you instructions and, instead of acting on faith, you stopped to wonder about the why and the how. I know when I think about it, I feel so guilty. There are so many things in my life that I tend to hold onto too tightly, simply because I have a need for control. I kind of think of it like a parade balloon. There all of these tethers keeping the balloon on the ground, and God is asking me to let it go. And I do. Except, as the balloon is slipping away, I grab onto the last tether. I tell myself, “I’ll hold onto this just in case. I can always pull it back.” — Letting go without actually letting go. It’s attitude that says, “Once I can see the full picture, I won’t need to hold on anymore.”
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Psalm 119:105
”Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”
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Let’s break that down a little.
Your word is a lamp. . .”
What does it say? It says the word is a lamp, not a floodlight. The purpose of a lamp is to light a small area, to show you only what you need to see. That’s what God provides us with because He knows we don’t need the full picture. He wants us to place our faith in him, knowing that He already has everything ahead under control,
“. . . to guide my feet. . .”
We are impatient beings. We go to a restaurant and we don’t want to wait long for someone to take our order or refill our drinks. We go an amusement park and we don’t go on rides with long lines that are too long. Lucky for us, God created use with only two feet. It gives us no choice but to take one step at a time. It works the same for our spiritual life. God gives us just enough to show us what is directly in front of use, so we have no choice but to take things at pace, as they are provided by Him — one step at a time.
“. . . and a light for my path.”
We are not walking blind. God has provided us a light to show us the way. Think of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness and how God provided them a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. No matter how hard we try to convince ourselves, we cannot find the way on our own. God knows that we need something to point us in the right direction. So He provides a light — His word.
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I say all this to make one point. We serve a faithful God. One who has never let us down, has never failed, and has everything under control.
