Light comes in all shapes and sizes. We enjoy the light that falls from a sparkling chandelier. When the power goes out we reach for our flashlight and light a candle. We put little lights in our hallways and call them night lights so we won’t stub our toes in the dark. We decorate our lawns and gardens with little solar lights. The sun sheds its beautiful light during the day and the moon reflects the light of the sun at night.
Without light we would be in the dark! Without light plants could not grow. Without light we would freeze. Without light, life as we know it would cease to be. Without light we would all die.
The Bible tells us that the first thing that God created was light! Genesis 1:3 reads, “Let there be light and there was light.” Hear also this verse from the Psalms, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path” (119:105). Standing on the steps of a New Year I would like us to think seriously about this text. Many of us are on a path in life where we are busy dragging problems and worries:
-from one day into the next
-from one week into the next
-from one month into the next
-and yes even from one year into the next
We worry about the past and we worry about the future. We worry about our health. We worry about the health of others. We worry about our jobs. We worry about not having a job. We worry about worrying.
No matter how good a computer is it can still come crashing to a standstill if overloaded with too much data. We sometimes treat ourselves like a computer by overloading ourselves with worry. Some times people will “crash” just like their computer only we call it burnout, stress attack, breakdown or heart attack.
I want you to give some serious thought to what our text is telling us about light. A lamp, the type of which is being referred to in this text, lights only the immediate area around its base. Think about that!
Notice that the Bible did not say, “Your Word is like the blazing sun to my feet,” but “your word is a lamp to my feet.” God’s Word shows us where to walk a step at a time. God’s Word is not a spotlight that illuminates what the road is like a mile ahead but what the path is like immediately below our feet.
Can you see one small blessing to be thankful for? Then thank Him for that one small blessing.
Can you see one persistent sin that you are carrying with you into the New Year? Ask God to forgive you for that one sin.
Is there one small temptation that still keeps company with you? Ask God to help you shake that one temptation.
Walk with God one step at a time. We cannot change the past and we know not what the future may hold but we do know that with the light of his Word as our guide that He will instruct us where it is safe to place our next step. So, don’t lag in the past, don’t run blindly into the future for the lamp of God’s Word only sheds light a step at a time.
May God richly bless you as you walk into the year ahead.
Blessings
(Rev.) John Fraser
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