Carry a Torch

I have taken to watching a few shows on the BBC channel and am always amused when I hear them call the hood of the car the 'bonnet', or the parking lot the 'car park'. We all have differing ways of describing things, but I really connected with how they describe a flashlight. They call it a torch. In my mind, a torch is that long piece of wood with some form of material wrapped around the end, like cloth, soaked in some sort of oil and then lit with a flame. Torches have one function - to illuminate what is otherwise not seen. They are very 'portable' - so they can go with you wherever you go. In much the same way, God's Word is a torch by which the unseen becomes known and it is always with us no matter where we go.

By your words I can see where I'm going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path. I've committed myself and I'll never turn back from living by your righteous order. (Psalm 119:105-106)

I have a Bible app on my smartphone that allows me to view my Bible from anywhere I am, in whatever version I want to read it, and with whomever I wan to share it with. This means I am never without the Word at my side! I like that! I have at my disposal whatever I need to help me bring light into a situation. That is the way God's Word is for us - it helps us navigate the twists and turns of life with grace, always right there when we need it most, and comes to us in just the right way we need to hear it. The sad thing is we don't always appreciate the benefits of the light we receive until it is no longer visible to us!

I think many of us navigate through life expecting that it will always be "picture perfect" - nothing 'dark' will make it hard to navigate or impair our understanding. Whenever the need arises to examine the spaces of our life in order to really see all those latest demands being placed on us, we freak out a little! Here's where we can draw from the Word - allowing it to illuminate our path so we can navigate through the latest demands with "grace". Light is what brings us safely through - it serves to provide us the "grace" to traverse the toughest paths with ease.

The 'torch' serves no purpose until we turn it on, though. The Word serves no purpose until we draw from its richness! The flashlight illuminates my path down the dark corridors that give passage to my next destination in much the same way the Word of God illuminates my passage through some of the darkest corridors of life! Oftentimes, we don't know the light has "faded" from our view until we find ourselves fumbling around in the darkness! David said earlier in this chapter, "Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you." He reminds us that the Word stands ready to illuminate our path, filling it with graceful passage whenever it is needed. Don't miss the point he makes about being so 'into' God's Word so that when he needed it most he only needed to "illuminate the torch"! Maybe we would do well to check the status of our 'torch' today! We might actually find a dead battery or two! Just sayin!