And Miles To Go

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

“The woods are snowy, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep.” I’ve always loved that Robert Frost poem. It inspires me to make my miles count. To make sure I’m traveling on the right miles, the ones God assigns.

I’m not exactly a whiz at directions. Even with a GPS. One time a friend and I were driving to a retreat center only to discover the friendly voice on the navigation system spoke only German. Neither of us spoke German! And there have been several times when I’ve carefully followed the directions only to pull up to a dead end as the voice says, “You have reached your destination.” Once, well actually twice, I thought my morning trip was leading me east on Interstate 80. After about 60 miles I realized something must be wrong because the sun was at by back. I had to turn around and go back with the refrain east not west, east not west running through my disoriented mind.

No matter how many miles I have left to go in life, my goal is to navigate them well until I reach my destination. So how can I be assured in light of the truckload of decisions I make every day that I’m on the right road?

By following the Word of God.

No better case could be made for relying on the Word of God as our navigation system than that found in Psalm 119. The psalmist says God’s Word is a “lamp for our feet, a light on our path.” It leads us through the dark patches in our journey (v.105). It keeps us from running into potholes of shame (v.6, 46). Promises in the Word not only guide us, they comfort us when other travelers reject and ridicule us (v.50-51). God’s Word protects us from getting off at the wrong exits (v. 9-10). It instills us with hope and happiness to keep going (v.49, 47).

No wonder the psalmist says he meditates on God’s word day and night.  We would be wise to do the same. Then we will finish our miles. Keeping our promises. Arriving safely. HOME.