What’s Your Flashlight?

If you caught the 2015 Teen Choice Awards, you saw that Jessie J’s Flashlight was nominated for Choice Song from a Movie, or you may also recognize it from Pitch Perfect 2.

So how does a song about something as boring as a battery-operated portable light make it so big on the Teen Choice Awards?

Because the song Flashlight really isn’t about a flashlight!  At least not literally. Check out these lyrics:

I’m stuck in the dark but you’re my flashlight
You’re getting me, getting me through the night
‘Cause you’re my flashlight (flashlight)

As you see (no pun intended), she is referring to a person who serves the same function as a flashlight when she feels like she’s in the dark.

Have you ever felt like you were in the dark?  Maybe you’ve been in a room where you couldn’t see—and you were afraid to even move for fear of hurting yourself.  During those moments, the only thing on your mind was “where is the light?” Right?  All of the sudden, things you thought were really important to think about fade away in your need to simply see how to move forward.

In Jessie J’s life, she’s found someone to help her during the times when her circumstances, relationships and emotions have caused her to feel like her heart and soul are trapped in a pitch-black room.

Do you have a flashlight?  I don’t mean the one in you have tucked away in your car or your kitchen drawer.  I’m referring to a friend or even a hope you have tucked away in your heart for when times get very murky and unclear.

I definitely have friends like that—the ones who have great advice or provide solid wisdom during the dark days, but I must never forget that I also have the greatest source of illumination that the world ever has or ever will possess:

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
and a light for my path (Psalm 119:105).

I love reading verses from the Bible that talk about what the Bible is—and in this passage we learn from God’s Word that every word in Scripture is a “lamp to guide my feet” and a “light for my path.”

Now we can appreciate the idea that God’s Word lights up our day, but may I suggest a slightly different concept from this verse?  The Hebrew word for “lamp” here is ner —which referred to the kind of light used in an average household.  It was a small clay container that held one to four wicks.  Their houses were not very big, and oil was expensive, so they would use the small lamps to make their way around the house in the dark.

In other words, the “lamp” referred to here is capable of illuminating just a few steps at a time!  In the same way, as much as we would love the Bible to be a huge spotlight that dispels all darkness and leaves no room for guessing, God has a different plan in mind.

His Word and His promises function much more like a cell phone that gives enough light to move forward slowly and carefully.

We usually want more than that, don’t we?  We may even believe we need more—but God has promised us only one step at a time—and really, that is all we need!

So the next time you find yourself “stuck in the dark” because of a broken relationship or a series of poor choices, remember that God’s Word contains the exact Truths that will show you the way to move forward without tripping or hurting yourself any further.

But remember that the Bible is a flashlight and not a floodlight!  God lights up a few steps at a time so you don’t forget that God’s Word is necessary for every step of every day.

And where do those steps lead?  Well, for Christ followers, once we find our way through the night, we can see on the horizon a rising sun, which in reality is THE Son!

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12).

Flashpoint: Ignite Into Action

The next time you find yourself in the dark, turn to the best flashlight you will ever find, which is the Word of God!

Accelerant: Fuel for THE Cause

Pray:  Father, thank You for the gift of Your Word, which lights up our path in darkness.  Help us to take just a few steps at a time and trust You for the future.

Read: 1 John 1:7: But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.