Ready:
“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” —Psalm 119:105
Set:
Have you ever tried to play your sport in the dark? Imagine your team is on the field, playing one of the toughest teams you’ve played so far this season. You’re under the stadium lights. You have everything you need to be able to see the ball, where to go, where your teammates are and your opponents too. Now I want you to imagine the stadium lights aren’t there. How in the world will you play in the dark? There would be lots of stumbling around and running into your opponents I imagine. You feel like you’re the only one out there because you can’t see your teammates. It diminishes your ability to play the game you love well.
No one with any authority would never allow you to play in the dark because of the potential dangers that await you. Clearly, it’s a bad idea. And yet how often do we try to go about life without the stadium lights on? In our verses for today, we see that God’s Word is a lamp for our feet and a light on our path. When we choose to do life on our own without the wisdom and daily light of the Bible, it’s like we’re playing our sport in the dark. We can’t see where our feet are going, where the sidelines and boundaries of the field are, which way our goal is and which is our opponent’s. We can’t even see the ball. A sport game played at night without the stadium lights is meaningless and dangerous, so is a life lived without the Word of God.
If you compare a game played under the stadium lights versus a game played in the dark: it might seem like fun the first few moments but that soon wears off when things go wrong or injuries happen. Psalm 119:130 says the revelation of His Word gives light; it imparts understanding to the inexperienced. His Word is what lights up the dark stadiums of our hearts so that we can see and understand where we are going. His Word shows us where the boundary lines are, where the holes in the field are, where our teammates are, where the opponent is. It gives us His created, protected path to run on.
A game under the lights is still challenging, but it is much better played under the stadium lights than in the dark. Your life is much better walked out with the light of God’s Word than without it.
Go:
Where in your life are you playing in the dark?
How might the light of God’s Word help you navigate life better?
How might you turn on the lights for others on your team?
Workout:
Overtime:
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the power of the light of Your Word. I know sometimes I can get in the habit of playing in the dark. I know this is dangerous. I know You are trustworthy in imparting light to the darkness and showing me where the boundary lines are for my life. Please help me to walk in Your light and to help my teammates to do the same. In Your name, amen.”