SPIRITUAL NAVIGATION

SPIRITUAL NAVIGATION

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” (Psalm 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.” –David McCasland

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

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With God as your navigator,

you’re headed in the right direction.

INSIGHT

In today’s reading, we find a portion of the psalmist’s great homage to the Word of God.  The verses describe the Word as commandments (v.98), testimonies (v.99), precepts (vv.100, 104), and judgments (vv.102, 106).  He also pictures the Word as honey (v.103) and a lamp (v.105).  One idea repeated in this text is that of the singer’s response to the Word, which is meditation (vv. 97, 99).  The word meditate means “to reflect on.”  It is a common theme in psalms that speak of the Scriptures-beginning with Psalm 1, which describes the blessed person as the one who meditates on the Word “day and night” (v.2).  The word for meditate comes from the Hebrew word Habah, which means “to be preoccupied with,” and is also used of a cow chewing its cud in order to more readily absorb the nutrients.

Have a blessed day and week ahead.

God Our Creator’s Love Always.

Unity & Peace