Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. 

Psalm 119:105 NIV

Sometimes I miss the beauty of Alaskan winters and her lingering pink sunsets. I’ve lived in the far north for nearly half of my long life between Saskatchewan and Alaska. I still cherish memories of bundling up and walking beneath the stars in sub-zero temps, snow squeaking under my boots, and frigid air against my face.  

A walk through those northern woods when the late afternoon sun filters through the branches inspires a picture to paint and scripture to illustrate. How like God’s Word is that filtering sunlight. In these days of disappointment, uncertainty, loss, and change, I find encouragement in the steadfast truths of God’s Word. No matter what trees, branches, and snowdrifts lie across my path, God allows me to see His light through all these circumstances. It touches everything and transforms a cold dark place into a beauty that restores my soul. 

His Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. When I live by His Word, I see where I’m going because it throws a beam of light on my dark path. Not only that, but the Word is Jesus Himself. John’s Gospel begins with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

I take great comfort in the fact that the darkness will never overcome the light. The light always overcomes the dark, and I choose to live in that promise as I wait for Him. Even though obstacles remain in view at the moment, that glorious light shines through and around them. The darkness cannot overcome me because I am an overcomer! Romans 8:37 tells us we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Revelation 2 and 3 promise rewards for those who overcome.

How tempting to isolate in our hopelessness while the darkness lulls us into a spiritual slumber. How tiresome these lonely days become. Yet now is not the time to grow weary and lose heart in doing good for in due time we shall reap a harvest of blessing if we do not give up (see Gal 6:9).

After Jesus talks about the end of days, He says, “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luk 21:28). God remains with us. The sheer power of His resurrection lives within us, and His eternal Word remains living and powerful to the very end.

This old hymn sung by Elvis Presley keeps lilting through mind these days:

Living below in this old sinful world
Hardly a comfort can afford
Striving alone to face temptation so
Where could I go but to the Lord
Where could I go oh where could I go
Seeking the refuge for my soul
Needing a friend to save me in the end
Where could I go but to the Lord
—James B. Coats