There is a Light!

"For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is a light...”
Proverbs 6:23a

It's that time of year again. You know, when it gets dark outside in the afternoon!! Ok, it's not that bad, but truthfully, the dark early evenings during the fall and winter months are at the top of my list of things I had a tortuous time readjusting to in our move back to New England. I'm not there yet. I'm still trying to readjust to these 'shortened' days, but I'm getting there and I'm learning things along the way.

I was recently thinking that it's in the darkness when you really appreciate the light. And I thought about how God uses the natural rhythms in his created order to teach us spiritual truths of how to walk with him. This verse in Proverbs does just that. It reminds us that God’s word lights our way when we find ourselves in the darkness of confusion or in the darkness of despair. Just like the gift of light enables me to see and walk securely in the dark, God’s word is given to us as a gift that enables us to see the world, others, our circumstances, and ourselves in the way that we should.

But the converse is true as well. If I'm not being led by the teaching of God's word, then quite logically I will be walking in darkness and will inevitably stumble. The question then becomes, am I going to go through this day in the darkness, or in the light? What we do with God's word will determine the answer to that question. So, remember, when it starts to get dark in a few hours that in the darkness of life's challenges, there is a light to guide our way. God's commandments are a lamp and his teaching is a light.

Dear God, thank for your gospel that enlightens my heart to your goodness in Christ and for your word that lights my way along the path of life. Help me to appreciate your light and abide by your light so that I may see what I should see and go where I should go. Amen.