In our daily lives, we encounter more difficulties than we would like. In varying degrees, these difficulties become stressful for us. In some cases, it can be so overwhelming that we feel blindsided and lost. If you look back at some of the places in your life, you can see the marks are pretty big.

  I don't talk about it much, but there was a recent issue that was so dark that I wondered what to do. About three years after planting a church, the worship leader who had been dedicated to building the church and leading the worship ministry with me resigned from the ministry. I didn't know what to do, but after hearing the testimony and vision of this faithful worker after 12 years of service, I couldn't think of anything else to say. And then, during the darkness, a voice came from behind me like a light. The Lord is in control.

  What is faith? I must have asked myself hundreds and thousands of times because you can't live in this world without faith. The Lord says He will, so I wait, and He can speak at any time, so I spread my spiritual antennae as high and wide as I can.

  Then, last Sunday, I saw the little children in our Sunday school sweating and playing. What caught my eye was that they were glowing with every step. It wasn't the first time I'd seen something like that that caught my eye. The energy and technology that went into making those little shoes glow reminded me of the greatness of civilization.

  As I watched the shoe, I had an epiphany that echoed in my mind: the only time the seemingly ordinary shoe glowed was when the child took a step forward. As I watched the child sweating and playing, I realized that the light flashed dynamically depending on how hard they were running. The child's forehead dripped with sweat as they played, and I could see the joy accompanying it. It should be basic common sense that, according to thermodynamics, energy comes from the motion of moving objects. 

  As I was praying over the worship leader, I wondered what I should do in the dark and confusing road of organizing my thoughts. I asked the Lord this morning, and He put these words in my mouth. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105) How desperately did the poet seek guidance on a dark road? As he meditated on it, it was grafted onto his heart in a way that made him weep. And as he stepped out in faith, relying on the Lord, a lamp was seen to be lit at his feet.

  And as the poet's steps quickened with confidence, the lamp seemed to grow brighter and brighter, illuminating his path. Then, as if in order, the mind is enlightened. For the Word of the Lord to manifest as a vital energy in our daily lives, we must take steps of faith. The lamp at my feet only works when I step out in faith, relying on the Lord. 
So I am determined not to stop in the darkness, but to see the light that will shine when I take that step of faith.