God's Word Guides And Guards

I remember taking my pastor and his wife once on a long ride to the coast for a breather. My wife and I took them to a lighthouse built high atop a cliff. The lighthouse was not immediately visible from where we parked. But as soon as we got past the trees and bushes along the trail to it, the view of the sea, the shore below fading into the distance, and the forest beyond so startled them that they gasped. The beauty of even but this slice of God's creation was more than enough to recharge the couple.

Deep within me, though, I was also thinking that the presence of the lighthouse in the face of such overwhelming beauty seemed ironic. And I realized that beneath and around the shining blue waters are strong currents, wicked bars and jagged rocks that in the dark of night lie unseen like deadly snares ready to snap at even the most seasoned sailors and snatch them from life to death.

I thought, what a vivid example of the misleading allure this fallen world has to the unknowing. And how gracious God is to provide His Bible to serve as lighthouse to guide us through the dark into His marvelous light!

Scripture:
"The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts. Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end." (Psalm 119:110-112)

Observation:
God's Word not only guides us. God's Word guards us.

Application:
I must keep to the ways of God as instructed by His Word. Its discipline actually liberates, rather than limits. Its wisdom really frees me from the many traps of sin. It allows me to see my way through the ambushes set before me by this world and the enemy.

Prayer:
Father God, thank You for Your love. Thank You for caring so much to give us Your wisdom through Your Word. Let me honor You, LORD, by adhering faithfully to Your teachings. Enable me, Holy Spirit, to be so disciplined that I may bring glory to my LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ. For it is in His sweet Name that I ask it. Amen.

December 26, 2006 entry to the personal handwritten journal I use in my quiet time with God.