Important words sometimes lose their freshness and impact when they become overly familiar. We stop paying attention to or taking joy in the thoughts and emotions expressed.

Think about a question we ask or respond to out of habit: How are you? How about the most crucial words of all: I love you?

Even favorite Scripture grows stale, and we need to contemplate it again: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105).

Scripture’s word pictures flowed from their author’s lived experiences. Led by the Holy Spirit, they wrote as they wrestled with their daily lives. Whoever wrote these words perhaps first had the idea as they navigated the pitch-black darkness of a long-ago Middle Eastern night.

I’m thinking about a Wisconsin campground where my family and I have camped. After dark we rely on electric lamps, less than two feet off the ground, to keep us out of the weeds and gopher holes and on the firm, packed path. Yet sometimes in that dark countryside, I’ve been able to walk just by the light of God’s stars. 

When have you benefitted from lights in dark places? When have the dark paths of your daily life been illuminated by God’s words and guidance? 

As God’s child, you can rely on the light of his Word every day. There’s no need to fear the darkness of uncertainty because you can trust that Jesus’ teachings will light your uneven foot path and bring you unexpected, well-lit surprises in your daily life.