Just a Little Light

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.            Psalm 119:105 ESV

What a season we are living in!  The more I hear and read, the more I know that I'm not the only one whose world seems shaky and unsteady.

In this season where I am so struggling to find specific direction in specific areas of life, the Lord whispered a simple reminder that I pray will encourage you as it encouraged me -- stop trying to see so far ahead!

We've been living at a little RV park in Florida for the past year.  It's a lovely spot, near the water, and out a bit from the city.   At night, it gets really dark here.

So, a few weeks ago, back before the time change happened, I found myself needing to be out after dark.  I had started the laundry a little late in the day, and I hadn't finished before the daylight was gone.  I don't really like to drive in the park at night because there really aren't a lot of lights and it's just hard to see.  And gas prices being what they are, it seemed silly to drive the truck a few hundred yards just for the convenience of the headlights.

I needed some light both to see and to be seen.  So, I flipped on the little flashlight in my phone and off I went.  When I stepped out of the house, I couldn't see the laundry tent (yes, tent- that's a story for another day).  All I could see was my little patio.  But as I walked a few steps across the patio, with light in hand I could see just enough for a few more steps.

I did not get frustrated that the light in my phone didn't immediately light the entire way to the laundry.  I knew that my little light was enough to show me a few steps at a time.  And I was okay with that.  It was all that I needed.

Why is this simple concept so hard for me to understand in life?  How often have I tripped over something right in front of me because I was too busy looking for something I couldn't see yet?  And not just "couldn't" see yet.  I didn't need to see it yet.

I know that God has a plan.  I know that His plan is good.  If you're reading this, there's a good chance you've heard me say this before.  I KNOW this to be true.  And yet, once again, I am frustrated because I can't see the "laundry tent"!  

What the psalmist described was not a bright streetlight.  It was not a nice full moon illuminating the countryside.  What he described was a little light - something much more akin to the little light on my phone than to the headlights on the truck. 

We used to have one of those big rechargeable 1,000+ lumen flashlights.  We'd step out into darkness and shine that light, and we could survey all of our surroundings before taking a single step forward.  I like that kind of flashlight!  

But that's not the kind of lamp for my feet and light for my path that the Lord tends to give me.

Perhaps the simple lesson of this season is trusting the word of God to take the next step.  His word (and Word) doesn't reveal my whole journey, nor does it clearly show an earthly destination.  It's the little flashlight that shows me the next step.

And so, the challenge is to trust His light for the next step.  That, and to not get so busy looking for the destination that I stumble over something right in front of me, or that I miss what I was meant to see along the way because I was trying to look too far ahead.

If, like me, you've been concerned where this season may be taking you, I want to encourage you today - a little bit of light is enough.  Stop trying to look so far ahead, and set your eyes on that next step.  That's how the Lord chooses to lead so often.  Trust His ways.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."     John 8:12

...Just a thought...