“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NLT)
This will make sense if you have been keeping up with the Mark Writes publications and you read yesterday’s meditation that challenge all believers, including self, to not be a hidden figure when it comes to letting our light shine.
One young person wrote back and asked for input to ensure they would not become a hidden figure. While the answer is clear in our opening verse, let me add an illustration, since somebody asked.
Willie, Walt, and Warren all were enrolled in an inner-city youth program during their early adolescent years, back in a time before a single drop of ink was written on the law referred to as The Civil Rights Acts of 1963 Each year, during the summer months, the organization that ran the program, took the youth to a camp in the country. The purposes for the trip were multiple. The youth could learn things about nature, pick up some general knowledge about the skills and resourcefulness to survive in a world that was not so kind to them at the time, and gain experience an environment that they would probably not have experience otherwise.
The camp had several cabins located in a wood area. Willie, Walt, and Warren were assigned to the same cabin for this weekend education, character enhancing excursion. They had canvas bags filled with items that were on a checklist sent home to parents to make sure the youth had everything they needed. A flashlight was one of the things on the list. A compass was not needed, but perhaps you will think it should have been as you read what happened.
One cloudy night, Willie has the bright idea, his mind still at work while everyone else went to sleep. His idea was that the three friends would go wandering in the woods since they were still awake too. They wondered what a nighttime exploration would be like. They knew they needed one flashlight because it was pitch dark. Warren pulls out his flashlight that seemed like it was over eighteen inches long, and he convinces the other two youth that they only needed his, especially since the flashlight he had was shiny, spanking brand new, and surpassed the other two young men’s flashlight when it came to length. Warrens’ father had let him use the flashlight that he used when he went fishing at night.
The three explorers, eager and enthusiastic, step foot out of their safe cabin, sneak pass the adult supervisors’ cabin, and start their journey through the woods. After getting deep in the dark woods, William says, “Good thing you brought you dad’s flashlight.” No sooner than William made that statement, the flashlight went out. There was no light. Warren shook it, hit on it, and took the four batteries out and made sure they were still connecting to one another. None of his efforts worked! Like I said, it was pitch dark, and because of the clouds, the stars in the sky could not be seen, and the moon would just peek through the clouds occasionally. Now, without a working flashlight, Willie, Walt, and Warren had to find their way back in the dark. It was difficult, dangerous, and finding the right direction to the camp put them in a desperate situation. Things would have been easier if they had only checked their power source, the four batteries, before they left. Later they would find out that Warren’s dad did not put new batteries in the flashlight. Their lack of light ruined their reputation as smart- explorers. They were hidden figures, walking in the dark. Thank God, after a long trek, a journey where they bumped into trees, tripped over forest debris, and for a moment, they had fear about their ability to make it back to the cabin.
What do we, you and me, learn from Willie, Walt, and Warren? What lesson do they give us about avoiding being hidden figures as Christians? Just as they should have checked out the batteries before starting out on their journey, we should make sure we have a good power source. Our best power source, one we can depend on to make it through the dark times we will face in this journey through life, is the word of God. The word, inspired by God, it will show us the way. The word, it will keep us from being lost. The word, it will keep us from danger and keep us from failing. The word, it will give us all the light we need. The word, as I have said, it is inspired by God and provided by God, and it never runs out of power. Thank you, Lord! So, you and me, we must check out the word when we need to determine which way to go in our actions and our reactions, in our kingdom-building work, in our kingdom living ways, and in our kingdom witnessing as a child of the King!
Let’s make it personal, since somebody asked. Take the word with you, and you will shine in such a way that you will not be a hidden figure as one of the followers of Christ! Hide the word in you, and you will circumvent, you will avoid times where your light goes out. You will overcome the darkness that surrounds you, for whatever reason.
Have a great Wednesday! Walk in the light, the beautiful light! Be blessed!
“The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand.” (Psalm 119:30 NLT)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King