How Do You See In The Dark?
“Your word
is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.”
Psalm 119:105 NIV
On Mt. Everest, it is imperative to start one’s climb to the summit in the dark hours of the early morning. This is because, on the way back down, one must get back to the relative safety of Camp IV before nightfall brings life-threatening sub-zero temperatures. The problem with climbing Mt. Everest in the dark, however, is that one must focus on navigating sheer faces of vertical ice hundreds of feet high, crevasses thousands of feet deep, and 100 mile per hour winds that threaten to sweep climbers off the nearly six mile high mountain. So the climbers rely on bright headlamps that illuminate the path a few feet in front of them, intense light bulbs that help each delicate footstep to find security on solid ground.
Now we may not find ourselves rubbing shoulders with jumbo jets 29,000 above sea level on the icy peak of a Himalayan mountain, but our daily travels and routines are no less treacherous to our hearts, minds, and souls. Each day we are confronted with situations where a friend has hurt us, a child has disobeyed us, a spouse has neglected us, a stranger has interrupted us, a co-worker has bad-mouthed us, our own emotions have confused us, and doubt has debilitated us. How is one to successfully navigate such dangerous circumstances? What, or whose, truth and insight show us where to step?
Thankfully, the Almighty God Who created us, died & came back to life for us, and loves us unconditionally has given us the light we need to complete the journey set out for us—the Bible. Jesus has climbed this mountain before—He even created the mountain, for goodness sakes!—and is therefore impeccably qualified to guide us up and down its icy slopes safely. So will you use the lamp of the Bible each day? Will you read it, ask questions about it in a small group, and strive to apply it in your daily life (even when it is uncomfortable)? Will you pray for God to help you to do all this, even if you don’t want to? Will you grope around and climb in the dark…or will you summit the mountains of life with the light of God’s Word?
“I believe in Christianity like I believe in the risen sun:
because I see it,
and because through it I see everything else.”
Author C.S. Lewis