THE WORD OF GOD GUIDES

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
—Psalm 119:105

THE WORD OF God guides us in certain areas by giving clear and specific directions regarding how we must live. Think of the Ten Commandments –God directs us clearly and specifically with the words, “Thou shalt not!” In His law, God tells us what path we are not to take and what decisions we may not make in life. This is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path because what the Law forbids us to do is what our sinful desires and this fallen world wants to do.  
 
THE WORLD, OUR sinful flesh, and the Devil all tell us to commit fornication, adultery, lust, covet, envy, lie, and steal, but God says, “Thou Shalt Not!” In Proverbs 6, Solomon speaks to a young man concerning an adulterous woman who desires to seduce him and lead him astray from the path of godliness and will surely do so unless the young man seeks the Law of God for direction. He says in verses 23 & 24, “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: to keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.” 
 
THE LAW OF GOD is like a brilliant light on a dark, cloudy night; therefore, it must be followed. Think of a captain of a ship on a stormy, foggy night, who sees a lighthouse guiding him into a safe harbor –a harbor that is very dangerous to enter because of rocks on all sides. One wrong move would mean sure destruction. Think how foolish it would be for the captain to ignore the lighthouse and decide for himself the best way to get the ship into harbor. To use his feelings and emotions rather than the fixed reference point of the lighthouse would surely bring disaster to the ship and crew.   
 
THE CONSEQUENCES OF such a choice would clearly be destruction. It’s the same way with every believer. We have the Word of God to tell us very clearly what to do and what not to do. But when we are foolish and don’t rely upon the light of God’s Word but seek to be guided by our feelings, emotions, or popular opinion we will surely crash. Will we heed God’s perfect Word and safely avoid the storms of life, or will we foolishly ignore Scripture and crash into the rocks? “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Friday Devotional: September 20, 2024
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry