Light has brought safety into my life so many times. No surprise, right? Street lights, stoplights, and flashlights have kept me from falling and losing my way. Candles, and yes, matches, have lit just enough space for me to see who’s at my door. On many bike rides home, I was relieved (I admit it) to see a group of smokers riding ahead of me, like a string of Christmas lights guiding around the many potholes. On buses, glowing white rectangles helped me just make out the aisle on dark nights. Those cell phones also occasionally illumined the face of a familiar student! If I was the first one home, the open door of an elevator gave the sliver of light I needed to rush out and flip the switch in the building’s dark hallway.  

So many lights have shone on my path. While most have led me safely some have led to wrong turns or were held by people I should not have followed. Only one light has never failed. God’s Word. The promise, “thy word is a lamp onto my feet and a light onto my path” was one of the first verses I ever memorized and the words to a much-loved song.  

When the voices around me become louder and more confusing I hear “the unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” This promise reminds me to get back into the Bible so the words can unfold and get me on the safe and righteous path. If I think my situation is dangerous, this is not news to God. He gives me the visual of a battle! “You are my refuge and my shield, I have put my hope in your word.” Through rivers and fires, He is there. “They will not sweep over you, you will not be burned.” Enemies? He has prepared a table before me. He is my hiding place, protecting me from trouble and surrounding me with songs of deliverance, writes the Psalmist. May I let that word shine on my path today.