The future is a dark place, simply because we haven’t been there yet and it is revealed to us as we walk into it. I don’t know about you, but when I lose sight of simple trust in God for the future, I stumble about in the dark and emerge with stubbed toes no further forward…
Night Vision
If you like modern war movies, you will have seen the strange looking contraption—looks a little like an inspector gadget attachment—protruding from the front of a soldiers helmet. These are Night Vision Goggles and when they came into use it revolutionised the way soldiers could operate in the dark. Some are so effective that you can almost see like it’s daylight and you can even drive vehicles at night without headlights. But, without them you could lose your footing and stumble or drive off the track into a rock or a tree. With NVG, you can see quite well in the dark, but it’s still precarious, because you can only see so far ahead of you, so proceeding with caution is wise.
We live in a world which often seems a dark place, where soldiers willing to go on our behalf to stand and fight evil where it lurks is necessary. Closer to home we have our own inner dark struggles from time to time and we would give anything for some light to be shed upon them to see our way ahead more clearly. I sometimes think it’s a mercy that we can only see so far in life, because if we knew what lay ahead, we might become overwhelmed by it. This is perhaps why we are given one moment at a time to live and move in, and why we have grace from God, which is sufficient for each day (2 Cor 12:9). But, to navigate this often present darkness we could do with some illumination to guide our way.
The Light of the World
Jesus goes by many different names. These names are given according to His natural characteristics: The Word and The Light of the World are two of them. Jesus Himself is like a light in the darkness:
“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
John 1:4-5
The Bible is God’s Word and was given by God to reveal Himself to us and to show us the way to life (that is, through His Son), and this is like an illumination to us: it shows us who we are; where we come from; why we sin; why the world is broken; and what the solution is to fix it. It ultimately reveals Jesus, Gods son, the Light of the World who brings His light and life into our darkness: by trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins we receive this ‘life’ and begin our walk with Him in the light. Even when we know the Light of the World, we still need help day to day to navigate our way through a dark and often confusing world.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to light my path.”
Psalm 119:105
A Light for my Pathway…
Having a lamp at our feet and a light for our pathway is not only metaphorical, but practical too: the Bible is a lamp by our feet so we don’t stumble and a light to show us the way. At the time this Psalm was written, night time in the wilderness would have been extremely dark. The only way to ensure safe footing in the dark is to hold the lamp down by your feet. If you were to hold it up, it you would not be able to see because it would blind you—you certainly wouldn’t be able to see the ground where your feet have to tread. By lighting the pathway at your feet, you can see just enough light to walk by without stumbling, but not so much that you can see what’s beyond the scope of light and be unnecessarily afraid of what lies ahead (I believe this is why we are given to live in time and space: seeing things as they really are in all their incompressible dimensions would, perhaps, blow our earthly minds).
The Way Ahead…
Just like the soldier with His NVG’s, and the person in the wilderness proceeding carefully with a lamp by his feet, we need the Word of God to illuminate the way ahead. Then we can walk through life without stumbling, or without stubbing our toes on a rock in the pathway, or from crashing at a fork in the road.
The future is a dark place; dark, as in unknown, as we haven’t been there yet. Therefore, it’s important for us to grasp that how ever much we might plan for the future, thankfully, we can only ever see what’s right in front of us and no further, because our future is always in Gods hands. We can’t see the way ahead, but He can, and He will lead us into it if we simply trust Him to do so.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
Proverbs 3:5-6
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.”
Losing sight of this truth, makes us stumble.
We must walk in the light shed before us, in order to navigate each step in the darkness and trust that God, through His Word and by His Spirit will lead the way onwards one day and one moment at a time.
A military version of the above article (much shorter)…
N. V. G. (Night Vision Goggles)
Walking With the Word 
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