“Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.” Psalm 85:13
A day after I wrote about the light of Christ and following Him as the light of the world and sharing His light with others, God’s Spirit pointed out that in order to see the light ahead, we need to keep walking.
If you are walking down the street in the dark and there is light right where you are walking, can you see the light 5 miles ahead of you? 10 miles ahead of you? Of course not. But isn’t this what some of us expect as we journey through our lives? That we don’t have to move forward in our lives until we see the light way ahead? This is not how the faith walk works, I have discovered. The Lord wants us to so believe in Him and to so love Him and to so trust Him and to be so devoted to Him and to be so faithful to Him and to be so committed to Him that we are willing to walk with Him step by step through life as we cleave to Him and to His Word.
Some of us, however, get stuck right where we are. This may be exactly how you feel right now, in fact. Why do we get stuck? Because we are afraid of what is ahead of us because we can’t see that far ahead. We want the road to be so well lit so far ahead of us that we know where we’re headed, what we will face, what will be required of us, what will happen, what challenges we may face, what provision we might have, what provision we might not have, who will be there with us and for us, what or whom we might lose, what will happen, whether we’ll succeed or fail, where we’ll live, whom we might meet, how much money will be in our bank accounts, what the weather will be like, what changes we might need to make, what we might need to let go, how we will feel, if someone will die, whether we’ll be healthy, what help we may get or not get, etc. Just a day after writing two devotional pieces about the light of Christ and how the Lord lights our path, all of this came to me. Why?
I kept stalling where I was. Not moving. Wanting to quit. Starting again. Then stopping. Refusing to budge. Feeling that way anyway. Why? Because God had shown me He was calling me to make a gigantic move and take huge steps forward. He had told me He would light my path, which I knew He would do by His Spirit and Word in answer to continually seeking Him, but I figured His light would be so bright I could see months down the road. But this was not the belief, love, trust, devotion, faithfulness, commitment, willingness, and cleaving to Him and His Word to which He calls us. He wants His followers to so rest in His love, shelter, and promises that the only light we need is right where we are. His light. He reminded me as I choose to take the next step He orders, He will be there with me, leading me forth in His glorious light!