God’s Lantern – Devotions for 1-22-25
Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
When our children were young Deb, and I took them camping a lot. We love camping and though we have moved out of the tent on the ground to a camper, we still love getting away in God’s creation whenever we can.
One time we were at a campground, and it was after dark. Our young daughter needed to go to the bathroom, so Deb grabbed the lantern and walked her to the bathhouse. I stayed at the campsite sitting at the picnic table enjoying the cool evening. A few minutes later I noticed them leave the bathhouse and walk on the sidewalk toward our campsite.
As they were walking, I noticed that there was an animal near the path they were walking on. It was not on the path, but just a short distance off the sidewalk. I continued to watch, thinking there was no danger or problem. It was likely just someone’s cat or dog or maybe a raccoon.
It wasn’t. It was a skunk.
I only noticed that it was a skunk when the lantern Deb was holding cast its light on the pathway illuminating it and the area around them. I fully expected Deb and Sara to scream or stop or do something to avoid that skunk. Instead, they calmly walked on and returned to camp without incident.
The skunk didn’t see them as a threat and let them walk by. They thought it was a just black and white cat.
My point in telling this story is that they were carrying a lamp, a lantern to be precise. That lantern was a lamp to their feet and a light to their path, it revealed the path they were walking on. The only reason they did not know it was a skunk was because they were busy talking and enjoying their walk. If they had looked closely, they would have seen that the white was a white stripe, but they were enjoying a nice walk on the sidewalk back to camp.
God’s word is a lamp to our pathway too. It shines its light before us, revealing to us the path we are walking on. It reveals skunks before us as well as kittens or other non-threatening animals on the path. It is up to us to look closely at what God’s word is revealing for us so that we can avoid the hardships that God’s word makes plain. But more than that, it shows us the pathway that is safe for us to walk on.
When we read the bible, we need to seek to understand it and what it is showing us. We need to see what it reveals in its golden glow to our life. We need to know the pathway it reveals for us in this life and the dangers that lurk just off that path.
By staying on the sidewalk, the skunk likely knew that Deb and Sara were no threat. By staying on the path that their lantern illuminated, they were safe. By staying on the pathway that God’s word reveals for us we too can stay safe from all sorts of threats in this world.
But, by ignoring the skunk just off the sidewalk, they didn’t know the danger just feet away. They should have looked closer, but as it was, they were safe because they stayed on the sidewalk and did not venture off it.
God’s word is a spiritual light for us. Let us take heed as to what it is showing us, the pathway that we need to stay on and the dangers that lurk off God’s pathway for our lives. Let us study the bible and stay on the path God has for us.
Pastor Gary.
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