Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle. Psalm 43: 3, NKJV.
Merciful God, because of the multitude of our sins we are covered with darkness. Please send us Your light as we study Your holy Word, and may we be led into Your presence. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask these blessings. Amen!
Are there times in your life when the only place you want to be is in the presence of God? Even if you do not say anything to Him – even if all you do is to sit in His presence – that is the only place where you felt “safe and secure from all alarms” (E. A. Hoffman)? I have been there, and felt that need. Oftentimes, the reading of His Word serves the purpose of leading us into His holy presence.
Light is very important in every aspect of our lives. Perhaps the greatest importance lies in the fact that light reveals. If we walk in darkness we can stumble and fall, but with the help of a street light, a lamp, or a lantern, we can see potholes in the road, an unsafe bridge, or missing stairs – and avoid them.
Yesterday, the Scripture used for our devotional warned us of the danger of listening to messages that were not founded on the “law” and the “testimonies.” Such messages, had “no light in them.” In the absence of light there is darkness; and darkness has just the opposite effect of light – it conceals.
Jesus said on one occasion, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3: 19). Those who do not want to be seen by others seek to hide themselves beneath the canopy of darkness, as did Nicodemus, “This man came to Jesus by night” (John 3: 2). Evildoers, seek the darkness of the night, because it fits their purposes best, as Jesus pointed out to His captors, “Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.” (Luke 22: 53). It is obvious that He was speaking of both physical and spiritual darkness.
How important then, that God send us His light and truth, to lead and guide us. And how dangerous it would be for us to set aside the Words of the One who is the very embodiment of truth and light (John 14: 6; 1: 6-9), for those of the prince of darkness. It is no small wonder that Jesus said to His disciples shortly before He departed, “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (John 14: 30). Emphasis supplied. The obvious reason is that light and darkness cannot exist in the same place, simultaneously.
But a day is coming, and is hastening on, when all the world will be lit up with the glory of God, and His kingdom of righteousness! This message is so important, that it is repeated in two consecutive chapters: “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it” (Revelation 21: 23, 24). “There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light” (22: 5a,b)! Hallelujah! Those who will be accounted worthy, by His grace, to dwell in that kingdom, are those who, even now, are walking in the light, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1: 6, 7)!
Therefore, whenever we are not sure if a message is worth listening to, let us remember to test it for light! If there is no light in it, then God has not spoken. And if the message did not come from God, there is only one other source, “the father” of lies (John 8: 44).
May our prayer, from this day forward, be, “Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me[!] And when God answers our prayer, let us walk in the light!