DID YOU PACK YOUR FLASHLIGHT?

July 14, 2017

DID YOU PACK YOUR FLASHLIGHT?

Psalm 119:105–112

Deb Frazier

Central Truth

Does the path ahead seem unclear and shadowy? It's God's Word that shows us where to walk. His Word is our light for our journey.

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

Nun

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
    and a light to my path.
106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
    to keep your righteous rules.
107 I am severely afflicted;
    give me life, O LORD, according to your word!
108 Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O LORD,
    and teach me your rules.
109 I hold my life in my hand continually,
    but I do not forget your law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me,
    but I do not stray from your precepts.
111 Your testimonies are my heritage forever,
    for they are the joy of my heart.
112 I incline my heart to perform your statutes
    forever, to the end.^{1

119:112
Or statutes; the reward is eternal}

Footnotes

[1] 119:112 Or statutes; the reward is eternal

When I was growing up in Missouri, the last part of July was one of my favorite times of the year. It meant August was coming, and that meant church camp. From the time I was a 9-year-old camper to finally a 22-year-old counselor, I went to our wonderful rustic camp in the Ozarks—15 tiny cabins, 1 large bathroom at the foot of the hill, and water too full of iron to drink. It was heaven.

The highlight was always our Friday night campfire in the woods. Armed with bug spray and jackets, we'd make our way back behind the cabins on a path full of rocks and holes and tree roots until we came to the large circle of wooden benches.

And we always, ALWAYS had our flashlights. There would be scary darkness all around and menacing woods, but we had those little flashlights. We couldn't see anything in the darkness, but we had a little circle of light to show the next step down the path.

I first went to camp over 50 years ago, and I probably have known our key verse since kindergarten. It was truth then, early in my Christian walk, and it's truth today, much, much further down that path. Same truth, same journey, same me, same light. And the path God has led me down these past few years, fighting cancer, has been brutal.

But He packed my flashlight. I know there are dangers in the woods, but I don't have to fear them. I can see the next step and keep following Christ. The light is His Word, always reminding and teaching and encouraging me of His presence, His faithfulness, and of His walking the path with me.

Verse 107 says, "I am severely afflicted," and many days I'd "amen" that. But it ends with the determination to keep on the path, to not forget His laws or stray from His precepts, and to walk this journey to the end.

Why? Because His Word gives light to my path that I can follow and I can depend on.

1. What was a time you felt yourself afflicted or on a dark and scary path? Did you have the Light handy? Were you reading His Word?

2. Believers often say the Word gives them direction in life but when has that actually been true in your own experience?

3. How determined are you to keep His testimonies and statutes to the very end of this journey? How does that commitment affect your life today? Now?