Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
(Psalm 119:105 ESV)
This promise got me out of my bed this morning. It pulled me out from under my covers. It moved my half-awake, weak-willed self into the room where I read my Bible. And, maybe most importantly, it helped me open the Bible, and keep listening, even when I could not figure out how what I read relates to my life today.
I hope that in sharing this verse with you, it pulls you toward your Bible. I hope it compels you to listen to God’s Word. And I hope it lights up your heart with hope when you are weary and wary of opening the Bible.
God’s Word Is a Lamp to Our Feet
This verse gives us a precious vision, a picture. This picture is a gift from God to propel us to open his Word. In a way, it’s a promise—it tells us truth we can hope in.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet,” the verse says. Initially, this seems self-explanatory. When we think of a lamp, we may have in mind either a big light on a nightstand that has a shade on it, or we may think of a lantern like what we use when camping. But when this verse says lamp, think candlelight[1]—the old kind of “lamps” you see in movies where someone in linen pajamas walks quietly throughout the house with one flicker of light to help them find their way.
God’s Word is a lamp—a hand-held flicker of candlelight—to guide our feet in the darkness.
God’s Word Is a Light to Our Path
But that’s not all! Psalm 119:105 says God’s Word is also a light to our path. When we think of a path, what might come to mind is a trail that winds around a national park or a bike path charted from one city to the next. In this verse, a path is a stretch of road—not the entire course of the road.[2] “Path” here is one section of your journey, not the whole way.
God’s Word is a light that illumines our path, brightening the bit of your Christian journey you’re currently traveling.
May Psalm 119:105 Motivate You to Read Your Bible
Do you see what a wonderful promise we have here? When you open your Bible, you are “turning on a light.” When you read what God has to say, you will find that it helps you find your way and makes clear the road ahead for you.
How?! You may wonder. What will it show me? That’s the adventure in it—we aren’t told. The verse assumes that we need light. It assumes that our course is uncertain. It assumes that we are going somewhere, and we lack direction, clarity, and sight.
Light may reveal dangers you would never have seen without it. It might reveal beauty and goodness you might have missed. It may reveal a turn in the road or a dead end. Whatever function it performs for us; we know that light is good. Light is a gift for travelers who walk in a dark world. God’s Word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.
I’m sure that there are areas in your life where you need light, direction, guidance. Where does life feel dark to you? Open the Word of God! It is a lamp and a light. It is not just full of bright ideas. It has a function in your life—it’s God’s loving means to illumine your way and guide you on your journey through this life. It is God’s way of “leading you in paths of righteousness for the sake of his name” (Psalm 23:2).
So when your Bible doesn’t seem all that interesting to you, or you’re so tired you would rather stay in bed than read, or when something in your life tempts you to resist coming to the Word, remember, “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” Don’t you want some light? Don’t you need it? It’s there, waiting for you. May that motivate you to read.
Listen to “Thy Word/Where Else Would I Go” by Shane & Shane.
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Sources
[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5216/kjv/wlc/0-1/
[2] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5410/kjv/wlc/0-1/. The word typically used for an entire journey is “derek,” or “way.”