Psalm 119:105-112: His word is our increase!

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Psalm 119:112 “I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end”

During this past week I was shown a sneak peak into how God's method of leading us by only showing us the immediate really is the best way. I was driving back from Texas on a road that I know fairly well since I have driven it quite frequently. Its a winding, twisting, curving road through mountains. At one point you drive down a serpentine road on the edge of the mountains, basically the edge of a near-cliff. Trucks slow down to go 20 down this route and regular cars slow down to 30 (or 40 if feeling brave). I was driving back on this stretch of road, driving through the pouring rain. The fog lay thick on the road concealing anything more than 50 feet away while the occasional lightning would shatter the darkness and cause the fog to fluoresce a dirty white. In these conditions I drove carefully, paying more attention to the road immediately in front of me and less attention to my music and my dashboard. Before I knew it, I was at the end of that portion of the trip. The mountains were behind me and the road lay clear of fog and rain in front of me. Looking at my watch, I realized something else: despite the poor visibility and the weather, somehow I was nearly an hour ahead of schedule! I did not know I was traveling that fast! I started praying and giving thanks for God's protection through that pass when suddenly I had in my mind a portion from a C.S. Lewis book, “The Horse and His Boy” where the boy, Shasta is riding in the fog and a large beast paces besides him. He finds out it is Aslan and Aslan explains that He was the only Lion Shasta had met the whole trip. Then when Shasta was riding back through the Gap with the Narnian Army to face Rabbadash, he saw the pass and thought “I was quite safe. That is why the Lion kept on my left. He was between me and the ledge all the time.” That was the point. If Shasta had seen the ledge the first time through, he would have been so scared he barely would have dared it. If he had not dared it then Rabbadash would have won. If I had not been concentrating so much on the fog and the rain and the driving conditions, I would have been more worried about the edge of the precipice and I would have taken much longer to get home which would have meant less sleep for me before I needed to be at work, and I needed the sleep because work ended up being overly busy.

God wants to increase us. In fact that is what the letter “nun” connotates. Increase. God's increase in our lives comes through what we often see as the darkest portion of our lives. God's word lights the path, but only for a few steps. We end up only seeing that area just in front of us and we do not see all the dangers that surround us, but do not and cannot harm us as long as we walk in God's path and His footsteps. Thats what this section is all about! The Word of the Lord gives life to the afflicted, protection for the dependent, teaching for the learner, and a heritage to the disavowed. The increase God promises is not always what we would think of as being “prosperous.” I was so used to getting through that section of my drive in the usual amount of time that I didn't think of getting through it faster – in the dark, in the rain, and in the fog! God aims to increase! He delights in blessings, He adores giving! Its because of this that He gives his Word, that He gave His Son, that He blesses and showers us with mercy and grace, forgiveness and lovingkindess.

This week, as we find ourselves walking the same beaten path, the same road while we are weary and tired. Lets make the effort to look to God, to revel in His Word, to sing praises and adore Him. When we do this, watch to see how your day brightens, your journey quickens, your work is better, and your weariness falls away. To God be the Glory!

Thy Word sheds light upon my path;
A shining light, it guides my feet;
Thy righteous judgments to observe
My solemn vow I now repeat.