Need a Flashlight for the Darkness?

In many ways people all over the world are in a kind of darkness. It can be difficult to see how to navigate many new situations, dilemmas, struggles, losses, and suffering. Processing what God is up to and how he wants us to respond can also seem like navigating in the darkness at times.

Isaiah assures us that God himself will guide us through dark, scary or weird times when we call upon his name and trust him:

“Let him who walks in the dark and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.” Isaiah 50:10

When we are uncertain, we have a choice whether or not to lean on God and trust him or lean on our own perspectives, desires, understandings and trust in ourselves. However, we need to make sure we are aligning ourselves and our hearts and minds to him. What is he up to? Are we listening to him? Are we willing to hear what he has to say?

There is no formula. How will he show us? How long will we wait for an answer? All he promises is he will direct us when we trust in his name and rely on him. David gives a clue as to one tool God gives us:

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

Here we have another allusion to darkness and uncertainty, and this time God says that his word is our light. Again, this does not indicate a formula exactly, but more of a mysterious truth that our intake of God’s word, the Bible’s Old and New Testaments, will help guide us forward in uncertain times.

One hard question to ask ourselves: how much time each day am I spending in God’s word compared to social media and intake of the news? God does not say the news on our phones, cable TV or radio talk shows will light our path, or that social media will guide us through the dark, uncertain, weird times. Only God can do that, and his word is his primary vehicle.

Okay, so if that is true, where is the best place to begin? The Bible is so big…

Easy places to start are one of the Gospels like John, or one of Paul’s letter like Philippians. The Old Testament provides rich and vital context and truth, and Genesis and Exodus are great places to begin.

Comfort, honesty and strength can be found especially in the Psalms. David was honest and even raw with his emotions and was not afraid to process with God. Click here for a breakdown of the Psalms for daily readings.

You could read one chapter of Proverbs a day—there are 31, one for each day of the month.

Do you prefer to use your phone? The YouVersion Bible App has many options and reading plans. The Read Scripture App is new and integrates Bible Project Videos.

Do you prefer to listen rather than read? Try Bible Gateway Audio.

The thing is, this is not a message to you to add a “should” to your list. Rather, it is “why would I not want a flashlight in a dark room?” There is no guilt here, only a lifeline being offered. One day and one step at a time.

Looking to God with his word as a flashlight,

Ellen