“I will lead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will make darkness into light before them
And rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will not leave them undone.”
Isaiah 42:16
Christians are aware of who the light is on our path in life. If not for Jesus, we would walk in darkness.
Thankfulness fills us as we contemplate what His light has done to bring real and lasting change to a wretched, lost sinner.
We think of this every time we sing “Amazing Grace.” This song that has never lost its meaning, passed on through the ages by sinners who know they are sinners.
We once were blind, but now we see how God’s grace has transformed our hearts and lives, and we never stop thanking Him for His grace.
The humble Christian does not walk with pomp and pride. He walks with humility for being extended grace.
In pursuing right living and following the path of light, Satan often tempts us to take a corner where the dazzling light flashes falsely to enchant us to worldly delights.
The promise of God is that He will lead us on the correct path. So we hold on and pray and seek God to help us stay on the path of His choosing.
Sometimes the pull will exasperate us, entice us, pull on our hearts strongly, but we must stay true to the Light of Life. We put on the armour of God which helps us stay strong even when we are weak. (Ephesians 6:11-13) That is the power of God unto salvation.
Our part is to cling to God rather than follow darkness, which leads to our own destruction. If we do this well, we can, with God’s help, testify to His power and goodness through the trials.
The enemy is so swift he will use what we need in our weakest moments to tempt us. As Charles Spurgeon says so well, “Rich with colour are the flowers which bloom at the mouth of the old serpent’s den.” That is a statement worth holding onto.
Hold that thought along with “I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains.”
Here we have God’s promise to walk us out of darkness as we hold to Him, and on top of this He will make our rugged places (areas we need refinement or transformation) into plains. God will take the rough places in our hearts and lives and make them smooth.
Has He done that in your life, dear reader?
He surely has in mine.
Perhaps you, like me, wonder if there will never be an end to those rough places. Refinement and pruning hurts, but it is worth it to grow in godly character.
The promise of God is that He deals with us in one rough place at a time. Otherwise, it would be too overwhelming.
His promise to us is that He will not leave it undone.
So as we walk the path of light, and as many others come to know Jesus, and walk on His path of light, out of darkness, we all walk towards the light, until one day, we bask in Christ’s light forevermore.