Photo Credit: Clay Banks
Why don’t we begin with the concluding lines of my introductory note. The scripture just popped into my mind as I concluded my introductory note about God’s word coming right on time. And I thought, heck! why not begin the journey of ancient truths with this scripture?
How many remember the song by Amy Grant;
🎶Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path…🎶
I wouldn’t say it was a memory verse, because the scripture doesn’t come to mind with a book, chapter and verse. So, I would rather call it a scripture quote. It is a scripture quote that I’ve committed to memory - Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. As I hear feet, I remember another scripture quote that says, He will not let thy feet to stumble.
They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble. Proverbs 3:23
Why will your feet stumble? Or rather, when are you likely to stumble? You stumble in the dark. You stumble when your sight fails you. When you are looking one way and going another way. But Psalm 119:105 says, God’s word is a lamp! to what? to your feet. Why? So that you do not stumble in the dark. God’s word, God’s instructions, God’s wisdom and understanding… (according to Proverbs 3) will keep you in your way so that your feet do not stumble.
Also remember Luke 11:34-35, what does it say? It says,
Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.
Now, it is becoming interesting isn’t it? If God’s word is a lamp to your feet (so that you do not stumble,) then what is Jesus saying to us in the Book of Luke? He is saying, just as God’s word light up your feet so that your daily walk is a walk of righteousness, so also should you light up the world by the light that is within you. So be careful (see to it then) that the light within you is not darkness! If you back up a little bit to verse of 33 of the same chapter, Jesus was saying, no one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl. Rather they put it on a post for all to see. Jesus is speaking about you. He is saying your eyes are the lamp of your body. How? How do the eyes give light to the body? Simple.
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
James 1:24 says, For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
If you compare these two scriptures, you will find that both have to do with beholding, looking, at the word of God, the glory of the Lord, as one looks at a mirror; and this process of looking and beholding translates to hearing and doing the word of God. When we are doers of the word our eyes light up our whole body and we in turn become a light to the world. But when we are not doers of the word but hearers only, we are like a lamp with light but hidden under a bowl or a light with darkness inside of it.
If truly, God’s word is a lamp unto your feet, then you have sufficient illumination per every step you take. This speaks of our daily walk with God. A lamp to my feet… every baby step or giant step I take is depended on the lamp. This daily walk is me being a doer not just a hearer. My eyes are then full of light and light up my whole body. I become a light to the world.
Luke 11:36
“Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”
And it does not stop there. It goes on to say, that Thy word is a light to my path. Now this reminds me of another scripture quote that says;
The path of the righteous is as a shining light that shines brighter and brighter unto a perfect day. Proverbs 4:18
Another scripture says, the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear, the Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
The path of the righteous… what is the path of the righteous? What does path mean? It is a trail, a footpath, a trackway, a pathway. Therefore, as you take one step of faith daily, being a doer of the word, you eventually lead a trail. A footpath led by God. You do not know the future but God does. So, He leads you one day at a time, as you take baby steps (or giant steps depending on your level of maturity), God leads you along a pathway that He lights up with His word. And as you walk along that path, your path shines brighter and brighter, as more illumination comes to you; more understanding and more revelation. So, instead of drowning in doubt or dismay about what lies ahead of you, His word lights up the path and you are encouraged to keep moving forward. Why? Because God lights your path through His word. You see why Joshua 1:8 emphasizes that;
This book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do all that is written in it.
‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path’ is not a passive scripture you declare when you are confused and expect that God’s word suddenly appear to tell you what to do. No! Rather, it is an action that is required of you; which is to look, to behold, to confess, to meditate and TO DO all that is written in it. ONLY then shall it and can it become a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path.
In level one, He teaches you how to trust Him daily by obeying His word daily, DOING His word daily. In level two, He lights the path ahead of you so that you are encouraged to move forward even though you cannot see what is ahead, but He reveals a measure to you daily as you advance along that path, so that your path becomes like the breaking of dawn… with hues of light at first… then as the sun rises higher… your path shines brighter and brighter unto a perfect day. Selah.
Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
Commentaires