“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules (Psalm 119:105-06).”

With an ascent that approaches 14,000 feet, Horn Peak is one of my favorite hikes in the Colorado Rockies. But on one sunny day, as our group reached the tree line, clouds rolled over the mountain. The peak was still visible, and I had hiked the trail before, so I wasn’t concerned. But I should have been.

As we climbed back down from the peak, dense fog enveloped us, hiding the trees and rocks we used to navigate our course. Without a familiar path to follow, we lost our way, came to a sheer drop off, retraced our steps up the mountain, and had to descend through increasing fog, then rain, then snow, then darkness for a safe path.

As daylight waned and we prepared to spend a desperately cold night on the mountain without shelter, we wandered across a well-worn trail. God had graciously provided a path in the remaining light for our rescue!

Similarly, when we have been endangered by wandering from God in spiritual darkness, he provides for our rescue. Not only does his grace alone keep us from a fall into hell, but it also marks for us a path of safety and blessing by the law that shines his love on our path through this life.

Prayer: Lord, may your Word be a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path as I seek to follow you in the ways you have graciously designed and revealed for my life’s blessing.