The Light Of Obedience

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Hebrews 11:8

Go into any of the big-box hardware/home center stores and you’ll find an entire section devoted to flashlights. Some of them are huge! They advertise millions of candlepower in brightness and can light up objects a quarter mile away. These lights are a far cry from the tiny, handheld oil lamps in biblical times—only one candlepower in strength, lighting up objects perhaps five feet away!

The psalmist writes that God’s Word is “a lamp to [his] feet and a light to [his] path” (Psalm 119:105). And in the mind of the Israelite, God’s Word was something to be obeyed. As I obey God’s Word where I stand today, it will give direction for the next move I should make. In other words, there is no need to see a quarter mile down life’s path if I am not going to obey and take the one step God has made clear from where I stand. If you are seeking direction for your life, obey what God has shown you today. Do that one day at a time and, looking back, you’ll realize the entire way has been illuminated.

Obedience is not a matter of seeing the whole path, only the next step. Obedience increases seeing.

The way to the knowledge of God is by obedience.

WILLIAM TEMPLE