Tag: Psalm 119:105

Blinded By the Light

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I don’t normally head to the airport at sunrise. Having an adult child home for the weekend makes you willing. Heading down the interstate toward the airport we rounded the curve at the junction headed straight into the sun bursting over the horizon.

Wham! Blinded!

As I maintained what I thought to be the correct trajectory, my daughter flipped down my visor to block the worst of the glare. Through the hazy, bug-splattered window I could make out enough of the traffic to follow along in an orderly fashion. Shortly we were in the shade of the office buildings of the city center and I could suddenly see clearly again. I’d not noticed how terribly dirty my windshield was until the bright light of the sun hit me head on from ground level.

Knowing me as she does, my daughter commented, “I’m sure there’s a spiritual lesson in this.”

To which I replied, “You betcha!”

But the master Teacher’s lesson on light was not over for me that day.

What had started as tenderness in my left eye the day before had multiplied and turn into swelling and genuine pain by the time of my morning airport run. Driving home after dropping her off I realized my eyes were sensitive to the light and there would be no way I could manage the lesson writing and computer work awaiting me for this day, so I detoured by the eye doctor and waited for them to open.

I was shown into a dimly lit examination room, and soon evaluated by my optometrist. She had me put my chin up on the equipment and promptly shown a bright light into my eyes to check me thoroughly. After determining it was a mild infection, she sent me on my way with a prescription and thorough instructions for care and follow up.

Here I sit, typing through a haze of eye ointment and squinting to keep out the extra light. The typing is slow and mistakes are rampant. But just as I’m thinking I need to give up for now, my husband arrives in my outdoor office with the umbrella. My aching eye is shielded from the glare and I am able to continue.

What lessons came through this? Well…

  1. We can look through our life on an ordinary day with normal light conditions and we appear to be a clear, clean windshield. We pat ourselves on the back and head out into our day thinking we are just fine. But when the Father shines the intense rays of His light onto our lives two things happen. One, we are blinded by the radiance of His holy glory. Two, the dark, dim, dirtiness of our lives and of the world become immediately obvious under the intense brightness of His light. We see that we need to clean our windshield (life) of all the little sins we had let slide by unnoticed in the faint light of the world.
  2. Just as our physical eyes can only see when there is a source of light and can see better with a better light source, so are our spiritual eyes. We cannot manage to effectively live out our daily lives without God’s illumination. Are we sensitive to His light? Do we work through our days with muddled vision or in the clear spiritual insight of the Father’s glow?
  3. God’s illumination examines our spiritual eyes and points us to His cure. Psalm 139 ends with a beautiful prayer in verses 23 and 24. “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Do we go to the Great Physician when our sight is dimmed and we can’t see what to do next? Do we allow Him to shine His bright light into our souls and search us, diagnose us, and prescribe what needs to be done? Do we take His prescription to heart and let our lives be changed by His instruction?
  4. Blurry spiritual vision will cause us to struggle through our days. Ordinary things will be challenging. Difficult things will overwhelm us. But Father God provides the umbrella to shade us where the light is useful to our weary eyes. He is patient and tender, providing what we need to continue in the work He has called us to.
  5. The Father has given us the Holy Spirit to teach us and reveal the things of God to us. He is at work in our lives daily. He uses word pictures to get our attention and teach us volumes.

Psalm 119:105 speaks the familiar but oft forgotten message: “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Allow God’s light to shine on your path today. Allow His examination and His pointing out of sin. Seek His direction and prescription.

Construction Zone: Illumination

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By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Proverbs 24:3-4

The focus of our women’s ministry this year “Rooms Full of Riches,” is based on the verse above from Proverbs. The purpose is to equip us to build our lives and homes on Biblical wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. In our winter session we dug into the wisdom of Proverbs, applying God’s Word to building our homes and lives. (In fact, that concentrated study on home-building is what prompted this series of “Construction Zone” blogs.) So, if you are reading this and find yourself desperate for wisdom and instruction in your day-to-day life, the collection of wise truths from the book of Proverbs will most likely have something to illumine your situation. scripture tells us in the book of Psalms that His word is a lamp for our feet and a light on our path. (119:105) dark_street_195913

According to dictionary.com, a proverb, in general, is “a saying popularly known and repeated, usually expressing simply and concretely, though often metaphorically, a truth based on common sense or the practical experience of humankind.” The book of Proverbs from scripture does just that, it expresses God’s truths simply and concretely. And since we Believers accept God’s Word as The Truth, sayings from the book of Proverbs carry much more weight than secular proverbs we hear in life, such as “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

The introductory words of the book of Proverbs explain its purpose this way: 

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:1-7

 

I want to gain wisdom. I need wisdom. Life is hard, and sometimes I just don’t know what to do. I need insight and understanding. I want to receive instruction for how to know what is right and to help me figure out how to live in this fallen world. Don’t you? And I want the real stuff – real wisdom – not the “wisdom” we get from well-meaning acquaintances telling us what we want to hear that’s not necessarily the truth. Wisdom that will help me dig out from under my junk and really deal with life instead of adding more confusion or complications, that’s what I want. You know what I mean?

Currently, I’m reading through Beth Moore’s Portraits of Devotion each morning this year, and this verse from the book of Proverbs popped up:

light_lamp_196504For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, and corrective discipline is the way to life. Proverbs 6:23 HCSB

That’s what I want: instruction that lights my way as I journey through life. The kind of wisdom that comes from scripture and is lived out in those obedient to His Word. We can have that wisdom! How? James 1:5 tells us that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault. If we do that wisdom will be given to us. Have we asked for wisdom lately? Or are you like me? Are you more apt to ask God to rubber stamp your opinion of what you wish would be done in a situation? If we get to the point we really want what’s best more than we want our way, all we have to do is ask, because “The Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6)

Have you ever prayed, “Lord just write it out on a sign and tell me what to do?” I have. But I’ve never had a real billboard show up with it spelled out for me like my friend Amy has. What I have experienced most often is one of those Proverbs 6:23 flashlights shining on a dark, scary path and illuminating only about 3 steps in front of me at the most. But guess what? When I take those three steps, the illumination spreads on ahead of me to show the next 3 just like our verse above talks about! And it doesn’t just shine light for that path, but it teaches me and corrects me so that the next time I’m on a dark path I’ll remember the lessons learned and walk through that path with more peace and strength. So maybe it’s best for me NOT to get a road sign. Maybe I learn more how to live. Then it’s not just a temproary fix, but a teaching, growing experience.

dark-forest-landscape-1.jpgI’ll never forget one particular family trip to Virginia. We had left Alabama in the wee hours of the morning and found ourselves exiting the interstate at dusk. Darkness came on us quickly as we drove up the winding road to the cabin we had reserved online. There were other cabins along the deserted road, but they were spaced far apart on mountain peaks just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. By the time we reached the gated, dirt road to our cabin it was near 9pm and pitch black. My husband jumped out, unlocked and jumped right back in the car, the thought of bears and rattlesnakes unspoken between us so as not to alarm the kids. A mile of steep, bumpy clay “driveway” and we were at our destination. No lights. No moon. 4 kids. Luggage. The unknown. The fears. We managed to get all of us, and items necessary for the night, into the cabin and collapse into bed within the hour.

Next morning, we awoke to the sun streaming in. The cabin was delightful. The view was amazing. The fears were gone. Nothing had changed about the cabin and its surroundings, except that it was now illuminated by glorious sunlight. That week was one of our best vacations ever. The funny thing is, after days full of vacation fun, every night we came back to our home-away-from-home about 9pm – in the dark! But guess what! It wasn’t scary any more. Once the dark road had been illuminated, the fear was removed.

As you travel through dark times of life, seek illumination from God’s Word. Proverbs is a good place to start. The book of Psalms works too. The Gospels, Paul’s letters, it all brings light to our life. It instructs. It illumines. It reassures. We are reminded of Jesus the Light of the World, who has conquered darkness.

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Night Light

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 by Joy Hutzler

Image result for light bulb at night

It’s dark. I am awake and the clock is glaring a set of numbers that tells me I should really be sleeping, because I have to get up before too many more hours pass. But my mind is spinning a hundred miles a minute, and some concern is boring its way into my soul.

What is it about the middle of the night that has a way of magnifying your thoughts? Why do problems seem so much larger when it’s dark?

 I breathe a sigh of relief and frustration when the sun begins to rise- relief that the long night is over. The light of day eases my fears and concerns, but frustration creeps in because I didn’t get the rest I so desperately needed.

 In my experience, whatever it is keeping me awake in the middle of the night won’t seem so bad by tomorrow’s light. If it’s wrestling with the Lord I’m doing, I’ve learned to just submit and obey.

Last night, I was awakened by a hungry baby. As I lay trying to go back to sleep, some cares of the day before began to overwhelm me. I felt the familiar fears and nighttime overreaction coming on, and the Holy Spirit gently reminded, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” I couldn’t remember exactly where that verse came from in scripture, but I knew it was Jesus talking. When I looked it up later, I found it in both Luke 12:25 and Matthew 6:27. In these passages Jesus is reminding his followers that we can’t worry about tomorrow. If the Lord takes care of the ravens and the lilies, then he will provide what we need as well. Those words in that moment in the night were balm to my soul, and I let the peace of Jesus wash over me, which allowed me to rest again. Thinking how sufficient that verse was for me in that moment in the dark, another scripture came to mind. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

Next time you find yourself getting worked up about life in the darkest hours of the night, remember that your Father is already in your tomorrow. His hand is already working out provision, guiding your steps. Submit your cares over into his capable hands; confess and repent if needed; listen for his gentle reminders; and rest your weary head, “casting all your cares on him because he cares for you.”