The Word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We have this lamp, we have the Word of God, but where do we keep it? Does it hang at our feet behind us? You know it does when the Word only shines on your past, revealing the good and the bad but leaving you in darkness, unsure of what lies in front of you. You try to look ahead, to see God’s plan and the path He has laid before you, but there is no light there, so confusion and fear grip you, restraining every step; binding any forward motion, any freedom, or any joy.
Maybe your lamp hangs at your side, lighting just the small area around you? You’ll know it does when you can see where you are in the light of His Word, but your steps are still with hesitance, cautiously moving into the unknown, never quite certain where your steps are leading you, or even misleading you, but taking Jesus with you wherever you are. You are safe in His presence, but ineffective in the world.
Has your lamp burned out? You’ve failed to attend to it, so you walk blindly through the world like a game of Marco Polo, Jesus calls out to you but so does the world. You quickly lunge to grasp the closest sound in hopes to free you from your prison of darkness, but the voices move, and the game continues. There is one voice, just one voice, that will call your name and never move. Can you hear it? Can you find it? Only when you are still, and listening ever so carefully, seeking just that one voice.
Or, does your lamp burn with oil – the Word of God and His Holy Spirit – shining through the darkness? Are you holding it in front of you, lighting all that lies before you, brilliantly revealing the path God has prepared for you? This you’ll know when every step brings more light, more confidence, more clarity, more joy, and more freedom. What’s behind you no longer matters because the light isn’t there. To turn to the right or to the left no longer tempts you because the light isn’t there either. Your eyes are fixed and your heart is at peace.