February 3, 2026 Devo

Yesterday, I looked at this verse from the point of view that God’s Light brings us hope. Today, I want to consider it from a different angle. God wants to give our lives DIRECTION. Have you ever been in a dark place that you are unfamiliar with? Maybe on back country roads where it is pitch black outside, and you can’t identify any kind of landmarks. Or maybe you’ve walked into a dark house where you couldn’t see anything. So you stick your hand out in front of you to “feel” your way through. Situations like that leave us anxious and fearful.
That’s what our lives can be like without God directing them. Jesus didn’t come to simply save us from our past. He came to be a Guide to our future. When Jesus called His Disciples, He spent a lot more time preparing them for what was ahead, rather than simply pointing out their past. As the Light of the World, that’s the kind of Lord He desires to be. One who illuminates the way before us and shows us which paths to take.
Think about it. What good is it for Jesus to give us New Lives if we’re going to keep walking on the same old paths? He pointed out a truth to His Disciples that was incredibly profound. He said, "Why do you call me 'Lord' if you're not going to do what I say?" “Lord” means “Director” or “Guide.” We leave the darkness that we’ve been walking in by seeking Him with all of our hearts and walking in the New Ways that He shows us. Paths that require a different character. Paths that require a different attitude. Paths that require a different manner of making decisions and choices. A New Life is lived a New Way. HIS Way!
Jesus also becomes that Light that directs us to live with different purposes. He points out that we are no longer to live for ourselves, but are to live Him and for OTHERS. That second part may be the most challenging for us. Paul points out in Philippians 2 that we are to have “the same attitude that Christ Jesus had… Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” That lights up our lives in a whole different way, doesn’t it?
Reading this challenges me to ask the question, “Am I coming all the way out of the darkness I’ve been walking in and seeking HIS Light?” I know myself. Sometimes I like to walk in the shade of my own selfishness and paths that I want. How about you? Jesus wants to be so much more than the Light of your Salvation. He wants to be the Light that leads you to live a New Way. Is He YOUR Guiding Light? That’s God’s Word for you today.