“Your Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105

The Lamp and the Path

At our large family Thanksgiving gathering I walked outside crying the above verse out to the Lord, and saying, “I can’t see the path. It’s so dark and foggy I can’t see it.” He said, “Look up, My child. You are looking at the weariness, the circumstances, who is missing around the table today—look up at Me.”

As I looked up with tears running down my face, I saw the sun peaking through the clouds but, more importantly, I felt the Son comforting me with His love. Then He emphasized, “My Word is the lamp and the light”—so off I went to the Bible I keep in the car, turning randomly to Psalm 94:18 -19: “If I say, ‘My foot slips,’ Your mercy, O LORD, will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.” As I kept reading, the Lord showed me the way to light the path: “Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms… Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…” (Psalm 95:1-2, 6-8a).

My a-ha moment—my heart was becoming hardened. I could tell in the words I spoke to people I love, and in the resentment I felt about certain circumstances. I had stumbled off the path and now found myself in darkness. I needed to turn back, find His path, draw on His love, His kindness, His gentleness, and remember I am the sheep of His hand. He is the One in control, not me. He will give me what I need to walk the path He has chosen for me each day. As I wiped my tears and went back into the house, it was with a much lighter heart—one of joy and, yes, thanksgiving.

This morning I read 2 Samuel Chapter 22, and the Lord continued to show me about the lamp and the path: “For You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD shall enlighten my darkness.” (2 Samuel 22:29), and in verse 37: “You enlarged my path under me; so my feet did not slip.” He’s got it all under control. He will be my light in the darkness, and will even make my path bigger, if I but let Him.

“Father God, thank You for Your living Word; it’s truly a light unto our paths. May we trust You and not harden our hearts, but be filled with joy. You are our Lamp and You keep our feet from slipping. Amen.”