Daily Bread-Aug26,2014

Spiritual Navigation

By David C. McCasland

Read: Psalm 119:97-106

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. —Psalm 119:105

Dava Sobel’s award-winning book Longitude describes a dilemma faced by early sailors. They could readily determine their latitude north or south of the equator by the length of the day or height of the sun. Calculating east/west longitude, however, remained complex and unreliable until English clockmaker John Harrison invented the marine chronometer. This was “a clock that would carry the true time from the home port . . . to any remote corner of the world,” thus enabling sailors to determine longitude.

As we navigate the seas of life, we also have a reliable source of spiritual direction—the Bible. The psalmist wrote, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97). Rather than occasionally glancing at God’s Word, he spoke of pondering the Lord’s directions throughout each day: “Your testimonies are my meditation” (v.99). This was coupled with a commitment to obey the Author: “I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments” (v.106).

Like the mariners of old, we need a constant guide to help us find our way and stay on course. That’s what happens when we seek the Lord day by day with an open heart and a willing spirit that says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

We need God’s guidance from above,
His daily leading and His love;
As we trust Him for direction,
To our course He’ll give correction. —Fitzhugh

With God as your navigator, you’re headed in the right direction.