Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path!

So, I married one of my older brother’s best friends from high school. I was the younger sister; he was the super cool, oversized jean wearing, never-wash-your-hair, snowboarder friend.

The plan was simple for this group of snowboarding friends. First year out of high school, they would work hard, save money, and then move to the mountains for the winter. Snowboard bums! That was the dream!

I remember the night they left for the mountains. My future husband and his brother had a big, old van that would carry them to their new home. Snowboards on top, the guys all piled in and we’re off. I thought they were so adventurous. So brave! Until I woke up the next morning to a phone call from my grandfather.

The van was old and not necessarily the most reliable and so only a few kilometres into their trip, the lights had gone out. It was night and it was dark. Snow was falling and gently swirling on the highway just to add to the confusion. What do they do?

A flashlight was quickly found to solve the problem. With one guy shining the beam down onto the highway through the front window, the driver slowly continued their journey until the group reached our grandparents place, only 30 minutes from home. The next morning they had to sheepishly call and admit that their grand adventure had been stalled, only a few kilometres away. 

It’s a funny story! My husband tells this story and has a good laugh. But, it recently got me thinking. 

Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path. 

Like a flashlight, shining its beams down onto the road, in front of a struggling van? 

We like to think the lamp will make the whole path clear! That somehow we will turn on the flashlight and the road will become visible, all 1500 kms of it. Yet, the Bible specifically says the word of God is a lamp. Not a sun that brings day! A lamp, that shines in darkness, just enough to show us the steps in front of us. 

When I’ve been in my own season of confusion, driving my old van down the highway with burnt out lights, I’ve wished I could open the Bible, and BAM! Every answer I need would just be sitting there on the page, blinking! Turn left! Say yes! Quit your job! Let your kid have a cellphone! Repent and call your friend! Though God does sometimes speak that vividly through scripture, He more often seems to use His words like the lamp. The flashlight that shines light enough to show us footing for the next step. The lamp that requires us to grip tightly to the handle and carry it with us as we continue on. The light that requires us to remain in dependence of its beams as we walk the path. 

Doesn’t this seem to highlight how relational our God is? It was never His intention that we ‘get saved’ and then walk out the rest of our days independently until we enter the gates of eternity. God wants us to turn to Him, be filled, be known, admit our reliance, enter in, be connected to the vine. 
So, this verse today is a reminder for us to grip tightly to the handle of our lamp, to cling to the truth of God’s Word, and let it light the path before us! And, step-by-step, kilometre-by-kilometre, God will get our old, rusty vans to the mountains.