“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

Every morning growing up, hours before most of my friends were awake, I was up learning math from my dad.

Since I was home-schooled until middle school, I would wake up before the sun, eyes still drowsy, and march downstairs to see a dim light stretching out from my dad’s office, where I would start my lesson for the day.

The soft glow from my dad’s office pierced the darkness and gave me enough light to see the stairs I walked down. And there, behind his desk, my dad would be reading his Bible — allowing the Light of the World to shine into his heart.

Today when I read our key verse, Psalm 119:105, I often think of those early-morning math lessons.

Many years after my middle-school days, my dad would end up leading an effort to found a world-class museum dedicated to the Bible, called Museum of the Bible, in Washington, D.C. When you walk into Museum of the Bible, one of the first things you see, etched in the marble pillar in the middle of the lobby, is the museum's theme verse, which is also our key verse today: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105).

This verse is found in the middle of the longest chapter in the Bible. This majestic chapter celebrates the incredible gift that is the Scriptures. What we have in the Bible is a miracle the children of ancient Israel only saw in flashes during the Exodus or received from the prophets.

God has spoken to us, and we have His words preserved. And what are we to recognize His Word as? Light. But if I’m being honest, I don’t always see it.

The day-to-day busyness of parenting, marriage, cleaning the house, volunteering at church, working and trying to stay engaged in my friendships can feel like there is never enough time in the day to study and appreciate God’s Word or see its light for my path. Yet every time I prioritize the space for Scripture engagement, I find myself more refreshed and strengthened. What a gift, that God has given us His Word to light our paths!

Ultimately, the light of God’s Word makes Him known. John 1:4-5 says, “In him [Jesus] was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (NIV). Jesus showed us what a life following God’s path looks like. Each step He took, every person He touched, every word He spoke, was filled with love and truth. Jesus’ words brought healing to the hurting and life to the broken. They also brought judgment on the wicked and rebuke to the religious.

It was because He claimed to be God that the religious leaders of the day killed Him. Jesus, the “light of the world by darkness slain,” as one hymn puts it, was murdered on a cross. At the moment of His death, it was noon, yet there was a blackness that covered the sky. Darkness seemed to have won. Yet the promise in John 1:4-5 was true. The light of Jesus shined into the darkness, and the darkness could not overcome it.

What is darkness but the absence of light? You can’t spread darkness; you can only make things darker by hiding the light.

My dad’s passionate dedication to God’s Word has had an impact on me I will never forget. And it is my prayer now that, as I learn to take time to allow God’s Word to be a light to my feet, it will have an impact on my daughter as well.

Father, thank You for not keeping Yourself a mystery from us but revealing Yourself to us in Your Word. Forgive me, for I so quickly turn to words from people rather than to the words You have given to me to better understand You and how to live life. I ask that You would give me eyes to see new things in the Bible that might illuminate my life’s path more clearly. Make me faithful to yield to Your way, no matter the cost. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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FOR DEEPER STUDY

Luke 23:44-46, “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.” (NIV)

How does Jesus taking on the darkness in our lives and in our world fuel your worship of Him? How can you express your thankfulness today?

In what ways does the knowledge that the light of Christ is greater than the darkness embolden you to live by faith today?

© 2022 by Lauren Green McAfee. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks The Lumina Experience at the Museum of the Bible for their sponsorship of today’s devotion.

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