Light the Way

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. – (Psalm 119:105, NIV)

Your word is like a lamp that guides my steps, a light that shows the path I should take. – (Psalm 119:105, ERV)

Your word is a lamp for my steps; it lights the path before me. – (Psalm 119:105, VOICE)

The more time I spend in the word, the more I am aware that every step I take must be done in love. If my words, thoughts and deeds do not reflect love, then they are not following the guidance that I am being given. This is a lifelong learning process, for our arrival does not come until we enter into eternity with God. Personally, I am well aware of the spaces I am lacking light, for my frustration with students is my continual reminder of my ongoing need for Jesus and HIs wisdom and love. We all fall short, yet we all have access to the Savior who will pick us up, dust us off, and set our feet back upon the path that He has placed before us. His light does not grow dim. When we are less aware of what we ought to do, it is because we have strayed from the path or are looking elsewhere for answers. May we ever seek the Lord and His loving light, for He will guide us in His goodness and flood us with His grace so that we may follow the path which He has set before us.

O Lord, You are good,

as are all Your ways;

You lead and guide us,

as we seek Your face.

You make the path plain,

where we are to go;

and grant what we need,

to learn and to grow.

Help us, Lord Jesus,

to ever seek You;

for You are the Way,

the Light and the Truth.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You have given us Your word to guide us. Thank You that by Your Spirit, it is alive and active. Thank You that You continually show us what we are to do and where we are to go. Forgive us for the times that we have gone off-course. Teach us to keep our eyes fixed on You. Help us to seek You and You will in all things and at all times. Lead us to love one another as You do. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we seek You to be the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. – Proverbs 3:3

Let Go of Judgment

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. – (Romans 2:1, NIV)

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. – (Romans 2:1, ERV)

So you can see there are no excuses for any of us. If your eyes shift their focus from yourselves to others – to judge how they are doing – you have already condemned yourselves! You don’t realize that you are pointing your fingers at others for the exact things you do as well. – (Romans 2:1, VOICE)

In a world where there is so much judgment and finger-pointing, it seems the only solution is to be intentional in choosing to love. It does not mean that we merely overlook heinous crimes, offenses, and the like, but it does mean that we pray for those who persecute us or offend us, and give kindness and grace those around us. Something that I learned a long time ago, is that when we point a finger at someone else, there are three of our own fingers pointing back at us. Whatever we judge others for, we too will be judged, for it is typically a fault in us that we see in others that drives us to want to play “judge”. The thing is, at the end of our days, when we stand before God, we will be judged by Him on what we have and have not done. If we have spent our life judging others, our own similar sins will be highlighted and condemning. However, if we instead choose to pray for others, even when we do not understand why they do what they do, we we be given grace in the same way. Imagine the world if we all did less judging and more praying. Grace and kindness would be abundant, and good would be obvious in all. May we ever seek the Lord to show us how to let go of judgment and place it in His hands, and to instead, love and care for all, no matter if we understand them or not.

Lord, show us the way,

Rob Han – Pixels

to be judgment free;

to pray and to love,

intentionally.

For if we choose judge,

we condemn ourselves;

for it’s not our role,

to judge someone else.

Instead, please lead us,

to love as You do;

abundant in grace,

as kindness shines through.

Please show us the way,

that we can love best;

in each circumstance,

put judgment to rest.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You call us to love, not to judge. Forgive us for the times that we have judged others instead of praying and seeking to understand. Teach us to trust in You and rely on You to lead us in Your love in all things and at all times. Show us how to love everyone we encounter, be it close up or through heartfelt prayer. May many come into a lasting relationship with You, for You are the way, the truth, and the light to all that is good. Be glorified O God, as we let go of judgment and trust it in Your hands, allowing Your loving kindness to be evident to all. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. – Matthew 7:1