Are you stumbling in darkness? Trying to find the next steps forward? This message offers insight for walking in the light and finding a clear path. Plus, learn how to get the kind of faith that keeps going forward.

Will you go to the source?

Last week we learned that scripture tells us Jesus, the light of the world, pierces the spiritual darkness that is in people’s hearts and lives all around the world. What is true about Jesus is also true of the Word of God and for everyone living in spiritual darkness today. The Word of God will light the path before you.

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

The word of God is timeless. It is as relevant today as it was back in the first century. It is just as true today as it was when it was first penned. Just as God is the same yesterday, today, and forever more, so is the Word of God. The Word of God never changes.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).

John is referring to Jesus when he uses the term or title the Word. In scripture Jesus is referred to as Savior, Bread of Life, Redeemer, Only Begotten Son, Teacher, along with a host of other names, including the Word. Not only is Jesus the Light of the World, but He is also the Word that is a lamp to your feet and a light for your path. A light and direction regarding how to live. A light to direct your steps and highlight the way to go. A light that piecers the world’s spiritual darkness.

I shared last week that all the world is living in spiritual darkness. A person’s eyes can become accustomed to the dark. But only if there is a glimmer of light around. If you find yourself in a dark tunnel or cave where there is no light at all, you will not be able to see a thing. Everything is black. You find yourself groping around in the dark.

Many years ago, I visited Israel and walked through Hezekiah tunnel. Hezekiah tunnel is underground and is some 1750 feet long. It is a waterway starting at a spring and it allows water to flow to the other side of the city. The tunnel is very narrow. You had to travel in a single file line through it. It has no lights and once inside you cannot see your hand in front of your face, it is so dark. You would need to stretch your arms out and take slow steps as you move forward if you did not have a light. Your feet are ankle deep in fresh running water. The tunnel snakes around some and if you do not have a light, such as a flashlight, you will walk into the side of the tunnel or hit your head on a low ceiling area. A flashlight will light up just a few steps ahead. Beyond that it is blackness.

Maybe you have experienced waking up at night and the power is out. Everything is black and you think you know where everything is until you stub your toe on a piece of furniture. Or maybe you step on a small object, and now you are in pain and in the dark. You try to remember where a flashlight is supposed to be and you feel your way around to where you think it is, and knock something down. Walking in the dark without a light is not safe, it can be physically dangerous at times. Driving a car without headlights is just as dangerous. What is true in the natural is also true spiritually.

We live in a spiritually dark world, and trying to live and navigate life in a spiritually dark world is spiritually dangerous. Just as a flashlight can help in the dark, knowing Jesus, the light of the world, and having the Word of God in your heart to light your path, you will be able to navigate through spiritually perilous times in life.

The light from a flashlight will illuminate a few steps ahead of you and you will be able to avoid walking into a wall. If you are walking outside at night on a new trail you have never been on before, the light from a flashlight might keep you from stepping off a cliff.

Know for certain the light of God’s Word will illuminate your path and keep you from spiritual danger if you let it.

The question is: will you let the Word of God light the way? Do you spend time in the Word of God?

• Some people think the Word of God is outdated.

• Some people ignore the Word and try to go through life on their own.

• Many have rejected Jesus.

• Many have also rejected the Word of God.

In doing just that, the person is attempting to do life in spiritual darkness and they become entangled in sin and bondage and go through life without any hope. The person who rejects Jesus and the Word of God is choosing to reject any spiritual guidance in their life. The person who refuses to listen or accept the testimony of another person, regarding what Jesus and the Word of God has done in their life, is choosing to reject and refuse to believe the light of God’s Word for them. They are choosing to ignore the truth of the gospel. They are choosing to live in spiritual darkness and not acknowledge the clear difference of God’s light that is all around them.

Have you ever tried driving to a place, but you have no directions?

• Maybe you are directionally impaired, meaning you are not sure which way is north or south.

• The car GPS is not working.

• The old Thomas Brothers map is not in the car.

• The gas attendant sends you off in a direction but after some time you realize his directions were wrong and now you are even more lost, if that is possible, than when you stopped and asked the attendant for directions.

• If you could see the stars, you might know what way was north and that might help, but the night sky is covered with clouds.

• If you had a compass that might help but you will need some kind of light to see the face of the compass.

Without any true sense of direction, you are totally lost. This is true both physically when driving a car and spiritually as you try to navigate through life. You might think you know which way to turn, but do you really? A wrong turn down a one-way street can be dangerous if you head the wrong way. A wrong turn spiritually is always deadly. You need the light of God’s Word to show you the way in life.

I’ve heard stories where someone said they knew of a shortcut, but that shortcut took much longer than if they had followed the directions they had available to them.

How many of you know that your GPS system can give you several choices of how to get to your destination?

• The quickest way. More miles but faster.

• The most direct way. Less milage but maybe slower.

• Or maybe a route that avoids all the potholes and wrong turns along life’s path.

No matter the way, in the dark and without any guidance in life, it is a good chance you will find yourself lost and without hope.

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

God has already provided us with the spiritual light of the gospel, a way of escaping most, if not all, the dangers of spiritual pitfalls in life. The verse I read earlier clearly identifies the path we are to walk in life.

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

God’s Word will guide you in life’s decisions. The bible is the spiritual lamp we need to follow if we are to get through this spiritually dark world. A flashlight in the dark will not light up the entire area around you, but it will give you some confidence to take a few steps forward. This is also true regarding the Word of God. The light of God’s Word will not light up every step along life’s path all at once, but it will illuminate the path before you and give you some confidence to move forward one step at a time. God’s Word may not give you directions regarding a career choice to take, but it will guide you in how to live in the career you choose. God’s Word, along with the Holy Spirit, can guide you from making poor career choices that would otherwise lead you spiritually astray. That is if you pay close attention.

As with a flashlight, the area closest to the flashlight’s beam of light is the brightest and the light becomes dimmer the farther out you look until it is the darkness of night. Once again this will be true spiritually. God allows us to see a few steps forward and as we move forward the spiritual path ahead becomes lighter and clearer with every step. Faith to walk forward comes from knowing Jesus and what path in life to take comes by allowing God’s Word to be a lamp to our feet.

Let me caution you, do not focus too far ahead along life’s path. The further out you focus the dimmer the path becomes, and you might take a wrong turn. The brightest path in life is right where you are, one or two steps ahead in the present.

Let me suggest that you do not focus too much on the past. What is in the past may not have anything to do with what is ahead. Instead, focus on Jesus. Focus on the Word of God. Recall the truth of the gospel and allow the light of God’s Word direct you. Allow Jesus the light of the world to reveal sin and the light of God’s Word to direct your life. As you do, you will be able to speak into another person’s life and possibly help them to avoid some spiritual mistakes that the Lord has brought you through.

I have shared with people how they might be able to share their life story with others and help others to avoid some life mistakes they made. A drug addict or someone who is saved from an addiction can speak hope and life into another addict’s life from personal experience. Share with one another the truth about how Jesus and the light of God’s Word has directed you and changed your life.

In the story of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus told her to go and sin no more. In other words, she was to move forward and not look back on or fall back into her life of sin. She was given the Word of life and now she was to walk in the light of the gospel and turn from her lifestyle of sin.

Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus died. They sent for Jesus but, when Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already been dead for several days and was lying in a sealed tomb. In Martha’s grief she could not see or imagine the miracle that was about to take place. Martha was spiritually blinded and walking in hopelessness for a time in the darkest moments of her grief.

‘“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world”’ (John 11:21-27).

Martha was living in her painful grief, she knew what was ahead, but she could not see the possibility of what was about to happen in the present. This is often true for us as well.

You can remember the past, you know in Christ what is ahead, but what is most important, is what is in the present, and the present is where we need spiritual guidance and must be spiritually focused upon, daily. We are human and all too often we get spiritually distracted and run after our desires or get spiritually distracted because of grief, rather than following the spiritual path that is marked out for us in God’s Word.

Sometimes we might lose sight of God’s word. We lose sight of God’s truth and follow the way of the world, but Jesus in the sermon on the mount tells us, blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. We need the light of God’s Word to see what is truly important in life.

You see, God’s ways are not man’s ways. What is important to man is often not what is important to God. Our true happiness is our reward in heaven and is not found here on earth as the spiritually dark world and the enemy of God would have you think. You see, in truth we only see things dimly in the light of the world. We need the light of God’s Word, the light of the gospel to see clearly.

“For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life” (Proverbs 6:23).

God’s Word is like a spiritual guard rail on the road of life. God’s Word is like having road signs along the road of life. Signs like: Danger ahead; Slow down, curve ahead; Slippery when wet; Bridge out; Stop; Cross traffic; Yield; Lane closed move over. Never ignore road signs when driving, and never ignore the spiritual life signs in God’s Word.

Just like when you drive on a road that you have never been on before and you do not know what is just around the corner; when you drive too fast on a blind curve, you might not be able to make a turn or stop. The same is true spiritually. If you are not paying attention to the light of the Word, you may find yourself in a spiritual ditch or in spiritual bondage to some worldly addiction. You may find yourself with a spiritual flat life, much like a flat tire and you are unable to move, caused by a spiritual pothole in life that you did not see.

When a person decides to go off-script and ignore the spiritual warning signs found in the Word of God, they will find there will be trouble ahead around the corner. Truth is, we do not know what tomorrow brings.

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring” (Proverbs 27:1).

You remember the story of the man who built bigger barns to hold his grain?

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:18-21).

The rich man focused on his plans, his desires, and he was spiritually unprepared for what was coming around the next corner. If he had only focused on the light and truth of God’s Word, he would have been spiritually prepared that night. He would not have done such a foolish thing as to follow his own desires, instead he would have seen the light and been prepared. By not following the light of God’s Word the man found himself spiritually unprepared and far from God.

Resist moving ahead in life without first allowing the light of God’s Word to guide you, along life’s path. Stay in the middle of the light of God’s Word. The word of God shines the brightest up close. Resist wandering off God’s lighted path for your life. Remember, the light of God’s Word is brighter in the middle of the light and gets dimmer and dimmer along the edges until the light of spiritual darkness envelops your heart and life.

Often, we do not see clearly all that God has for us at first. The path forward becomes clearer as we choose to walk in the light of his word. God’s Word shines just enough for us to see a few steps ahead, allowing us, in faith, to move forward step by step. The light of God’s word will guide your steps in every season of life.

In Acts chapter 7 we find Steven and he is reminding people of how God worked in the past. Both when the people of God obeyed God and when they chose to disobey God. It’s good for us to consider both our obedience and disobedience and realize that obedience brings blessing whereas disobedience will lead to all sorts of evil, bondages, and wayward living.

Never lose sight of God’s word and the light it gives you to live each day.

In The Old Testament you will read how Israelites drifted from the center of God’s will. The Israelites allowed the influence of other nations to distract them spiritually and soon the people of God were no longer following the light of God’s commands and Word. They slowly became accustomed to the dim light found in spiritual darkness.

Allow me to suggest that spiritual darkness has a dim glimmer of worldly light. The worldly light found in spiritual darkness is just enough to satisfy the sinner and fool a person into thinking they do not need the light of God’s word. In fact, it is easy for a person to become accustomed to the light of the world over a long period of time. The difference can be so subtle they hardly notice.

A great example is when a person is driving a car, and the sun slowly sets over the horizon. Other drivers may have turned on their headlights. The streetlights are on. But the drivers’ eyes have slowly adjusted to the lower light, and they don’t realize they are driving without any lights. Has anyone ever seen a car on the road without their lights turned on? I know I have. The driver doesn’t realize that they are driving by the light from other cars. The driver may soon find themselves in an accident or have caused an accident all because they were not paying close attention to whose light they were driving by.

Don’t get caught living by the dim light of the world. Don’t get caught living according to the light of spiritual darkness. Live in the light of the gospel and you will never stray spiritually. Have Jesus, the light of the world, in your heart and study the Word of God and the light of God’s Word will guide your every step. Refuse to live by the light of the world or another person’s light, because their light may not be the true light of the gospel. Instead, go to the source. Just as the Samaritan townspeople did in John 4. Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman at the well. She ran and told others in town about Jesus, and they believed her, and they went and listened to Jesus’ teaching. They went to Jesus, the source, and received the light of the gospel into their hearts, and they believed for themselves.

‘They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”’ (John 4:42).

Will you go to the source? Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you through the Word of God today. As a child of God, understand he has brought you out of darkness and into the light of life. Don’t fall back into spiritual darkness.

You may recall your past at times but focus on your future in Christ. Give glory to God for opening your spiritual eyes to see the light of God’s Word. Live according to the light of God’s Word. Know that Jesus is the light of the world. Encourage others to know the same truth. Point them to Jesus and tell them to always walk in the light of God’s Word.

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