One day a man woke up and said to God “I want to do what you want me to do \u2013 show me what path to take and I will do it.” There was a knock at the door and the man ran downstairs eager to see what God\u2019s response would be. He opened the door to find a parcel from Amazon. Gingerly, he picked it up, all the while thinking \u2018Whatever is in this parcel is God\u2019s plan for me!\u2019 The end.<\/p>\n
Only kidding. He sat down and opened the parcel and inside was a lantern. In the lantern there was space for one small tealight \u2013 it wasn\u2019t even battery powered! Unperturbed, the man asked God what the meaning of all this was. \u201cYou wanted me to show you the path, I have given you something to light the way, now off you go\u201d replied God. \u201cHang on!\u201d said the man (Let\u2019s call him Duncan) \u201cIt\u2019s nighttime and I live in the middle of nowhere \u2013 not a street light in sight\u201d. \u201cWell that\u2019s why I got you a lantern \u2013 don\u2019t worry about the light going out I will sustain it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duncan thought about this for a few minutes and then decided to go for it! Why not? He had God\u2019s promise of a light to guide him! Duncan opened the door and stepped out into the pitch black, at which point his lantern began to glow. But there seemed to be something wrong with it \u2013 it\u2019s light did not cast very far around Duncan at all \u2013 in fact he could only see a few steps ahead at a time. \u201cAre you sure God?\u201d Duncan asked \u201cYou\u2019re on the right path Dunc just keeping walking forwards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Well it was slow going for Duncan, and as he got further and further along the path he began to become discouraged. \u201cStupid lantern\u201d he thought to himself. If only I could see my destination, if only I could see that I was getting closer and closer to it. But this lantern doesn\u2019t shine far enough \u2013 what were you thinking God?\u201d Duncan heard a noise in front of him and raised the lantern to try and see what was there, but it was no use. Then a voice came from the darkness \u201cWhat you got there boy? A lantern? Are you stupid or something? Wandering around in the darkness with a tiny little lantern. No no no. What you want is a torch. We got LED\u2019s and everything these days.\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s an LED?\u201d Duncan puzzled. \u201cIt means you can see where you are going boy, it\u2019s bright alright \u2013 you\u2019ll be moving along faster than you are with that thing. It just so happens I have a torch on me, I tell you what I\u2019ll do you a trade. I\u2019m somewhat familar with this darkness, I don\u2019t have much use for light so I\u2019ll swap you this torch for your lantern.\u201d Duncan didn\u2019t hesitate as he was fed up with the lantern and this new voice was offering him a deal too good to be true. Duncan took the torch and shone it into the darkness \u2013 it was brilliant! There in the distance Duncan could see some buildings at the end of the path. ‘That must be my destination’ he thought and set off at a faster pace. Unfortunately Duncan tripped over and fell in a deep hole.<\/p>\n
Psalm 119:105: \u2018Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.\u2019<\/p>\n
God promises to light our path highlighting any obstacles that come up, on the other hand, we often look to the future fantasising about what the final outcome of the paths we are on might be.<\/p>\n
What does it mean for God\u2019s word to be a lamp to your feet today? Where are your eyes focused? On the journey or what you think is the destination?<\/p>\n