Last month, my son and I decided to pursue an “ultimate” adventure . . . take a trail along the ridge of Massanutten mountain, seeing how far we could get in one hour! Amazingly, we reached the two mile marker at exactly an hour . . . but it took us an hour and fifteen minutes to get back! And . . . my aching bones are still complaining three weeks later!
However, while on the trail, it was so easy to reflect on spiritual principles. One of the most important was what I call “The Parable of the Blue Blazes.” The trail was marked by blue signs on trees or blue streaks on rocks. In many places, there was no way to see a quarter or half a mile ahead . . . we could only determine the next 10 yards or so.
As a result, the blue blazes were so critical for helping us decide what our next steps would be. A couple times, especially on the way back, we couldn’t tell where we were going . . . but at each of those moments of indecision, one of us would catch a glimpse of a blue blaze just a little ways ahead.
Generally, this is how God leads us through life. Oh, He may give us a “big picture” vision . . . but for the precise details, so often His verse for us is found in Psalm 119:105—“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Culturally, a lamp was used inside the house, and a torch was used outside on a path. Either way, the light given would only help for the next few steps. The understanding of this verse is that God’s Word provides guidance for just the next few steps . . . and once we’ve taken those steps, God gives us light for the next few steps, etc.
