Faithful on Fridays Blog

Fourteenth Octave

My grandsons love to read, especially by flashlight. While hovered over a book in the dark they take an adventure in a story. Psalm 119:105-112, our fourteenth octave, begins with the Hebrew word for lamp. Similar to these boys, we need a lamp to guide us through our story in life. If we jump ahead into Jesus’ story, the gospel of John, we read this:

The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. John 1:4-5

Jesus Christ is the Word of God therefore He is our lamp as the Psalmist writes. What Jesus said and did gives light to our lives in every situation. Whether we’re on a rocky or smooth path; we need to keep the light on. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, often it’s not, but the end result will be worth it. He’ll build our faith, give us strength, and we’ll experience greater degrees of trust with each trial. The writer puts it like this:

I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again: I will obey your righteous regulations. Psalms 119:106 NLT

Even though he turned a corner in life he remembered what worked in the rough times. His relationship with God through His Word is what brought him through the past trials and it’ll get him through again. God’s promises are trustworthy and the more you depend on Him the greater your faith becomes. You begin to walk through life with your head held higher knowing, really knowing, God will come through for you. He did it once and He’ll do it again. He’s like that.

Don’t think for a moment that this is ‘pie in the sky’. God is not some Sugar Daddy that gives us everything we want when we want it. He’s a Father who extends His love to us through His Son and gives us instructions and even commands to follow. It’s pretty simple, really.

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:36-39 NLT

The author ends this section describing God’s Word as the ‘joy of my heart’ and consequently he determined to continue his life with Jesus as his Source.

Don’t enter your day without turning on the light. Open your Bible and begin reading. When was the last time you read a gospel? Focus your attention on Jesus’ words and what they mean to you. God has, as Augustine said, illumination and as Paul wrote, revelation for you:

But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. Corinthians 2:10 NLT