I have the pleasure of being part of a book club comprised entirely of thoughtful and engaging women. We are currently reading The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien which is the second book in The Lord of The Rings trilogy. If you are not familiar, the briefest summary is that Frodo and Sam have to return the ruling Ring of Power to where it was made so it does not fall into the wrong hands and destroy life as they know it. Really, you should read it or at least watch the movies.
While talking about this book our club members are also asked to bring a creative work of their own to tie into the reading of the book. These can be artwork, jewelry making (what I do) and personal writings. One friend brought in a writing that posed the question of what if the characters in the book said “no”. What if they chose self-preservation?
It’s provocative to think about that. This poignant conversation in the book takes place between Sam and Frodo:
“We shouldn't be here at all, if we'd known more about it before we started. But I suppose it's often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo: adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that's not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually — their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn't. And if they had, we shouldn't know, because they'd have been forgotten.”
If they knew how hard the adventure was going to be, would they even have gone? Maybe not.
Then I thought about the hard times in my life. The “adventures” that required me to travel through dark places emotionally. There would be times where I wasn’t sure if I would come out ok or if I would even come out at all. But I did. Every single time. Still, I wonder, would I have chosen those paths, those adventures if I knew what I would need to endure while going through it? Is this why sometimes God must guide me one step at a time rather than giving me the whole map and seeing ahead of time where my journey would take me?
This leads me to Psalms 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (ESV). David is talking about how much he hates taking the false way in the verse preceding, which is why The Word of God is so crucial and is needed to keep us heading on the correct course.
But I want to take a closer look at that verse.
When David says that The Word is a lamp to his feet, I think it is literal. That the lamp is lighting up his footsteps. Not miles ahead. Just is feet, one step at a time. Then he describes that light for his path, showing more of the big picture, where the path is leading. Knowing where we are going is because the path is lighted. Knowing one step at a time is having your footsteps lighted.
Through the dark times where I have had to follow God and His word and voice, there were lighted path days and there were lamped footstep days. The lamp days were the times where I had no idea what was next, where I was headed or why I was going through the pain and anguish. All He would give me was my next move, because there was a chance that if I knew what was to come, I would give up and turn back. Those are the days where I had to trust Him and know that even though I didn’t see the entire picture, His goodness would guide me through so completely. Lamp days.
Then the light days. The days where God gives me more of the picture. I could see where He was taking me and what I could expect. I still needed to trust Him and listen to His word for guidance, but the comfort of KNOWING made it easier. I think God, in his gentle fatherly way will let us have those days. To show us that he understands our desire to know what to expect, but to also show us that He will never take us to a place He does not already know.
Lamp Days and Light Days. When following God and His Word, we will have both. Knowing to believe and trust that you are being guided during those darkest of Lamp Days is key. To know that God is leading to a place that He knows and wants you to approach with expectancy is the mercy of Light Days. Both promise to take us to His intended outcome.
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