I was driving in a city a couple of hours from my home. I’d been having trouble with my car’s electrical system. I knew there was a good auto repair place in this city, so I decided to go there. The mechanic soon found the problem, and in an hour or so, I was on my way. After taking care of some other business, I started down the road toward home.
By this time, it was growing dark. I switched on my car’s headlights, settled back and relaxed for the hour and a half drive home. Before long, I noticed my headlights were gradually getting dimmer. Soon they were giving almost no light.
From my auto repair experiences, I realized that the car’s alternator was not charging enough. You know, the thing I’d just paid someone to fix. I also knew that all the voltage the alternator could produce was needed just to keep the engine running. If I kept the headlights turned on, it wouldn’t be long until the engine would fail. And on this desolate stretch of road there wasn’t a service station or any kind of business place for seventy-five miles or more.
Thankful for the Moon
I was glad for the moon and thankful that in this area the small county road was not heavily traveled. I turned off the headlights and slowly drove by moonlight until another car approached. Then I would switch on the lights until the other car passed. It was slow going, but I finally made it home. The next day I discovered that the mechanic had failed to tighten a bolt, leaving a drive belt loose.
When we need light, there’s no substitute for it. The Scriptures describe God’s word as a light. “By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path” (Psalm 119:105, The Message).
But the Bible won’t do us a bit of good if we don’t pick it up, and ask God to turn on the light. Since God gave the Bible, we need Him to help us understand it. We need to read it every day, and allow its messages to enlighten our minds.
This world can be a pretty dark place. It is hard if not impossible to make it through life on our own. The Scriptures say, “I know, O Lord, that the way of human beings is not in their control, that mortals as they walk cannot direct their steps” (Jeremiah 10:23, NRSV).
We must have a source of light from outside of ourselves, to help us find our way through the many dangerous curves, detours, and road hazards we’re sure to come to as we travel life’s highway.
So, why travel on in the dark, especially when you don’t have to? “Let there be light!”
