Step lightly

Your word is a lamp to my feet  and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

A very familiar verse.  Amy Grant sang a beautiful song about this verse many years ago. (Yeah, I am humming it too.)  The verse says that God lights our path, and shines a light onto our feet.  But what it doesn’t say is that He  illuminates the path so we can see all around us. His word doesn’t act as halogen headlights to let us see into the distance.  It is a lamp- a little flashlight that gives out just enough radiance to help us look down and see where to step next, and maybe again. A few steps, and the light moves with us to reveal just a few more.

What a wonderful and marvelous God we serve! He knows how easy it would be for us to veer off the path if the whole landscape was illuminated; or how we might, like a rabbit, freeze in fear if we saw the dangers that lurked in the darkness.   No, instead, He gives us what we need to follow just one step at a time, lighting right in front of our feet. 

When things seem overwhelming, and big questions loom about your future- what happens if I lose my job, or my mother doesn’t recover form this last stroke, or will my kids turn out okay, or do I have enough money to retire on in ten years? – then turn to God’s word for comfort. Lift it up to Him in prayer. He will dispel the darkness just enough to show you the next step you should take.

Those times  the future seems so ominous, it is best to remember who guides us through the present. Stay close, pray constantly, dwell in His Scripture. Then step lightly into the  small area of the lit path He is shining for you, one footprint at a time. With God leading the way, you’ll get there. Let Him set the pace, let Him light the path. Let Him worry about the things looming in the dark. You just hold onto your faith and match your pace to His.