Thoughts: Hannah's Blog

Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead thou me on;
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on;
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene: one step enough for me.

This one is a famous poem by Sir John Henry Newman. We had this as a memory poem in our 9th grade (we had to memorise some 5 poems per year, some of which would come up in exams and we are supposed to write it and were evaluated)

My teacher at that time explained it well. She asked us to picture the scene in mind. I imagined myself living in older times without electricity, walking through a forest where there is a small trail of path worn down by previous travellers, leading to my home in some village. I still had to travel far and the darkness around me keeps getting darker that I cannot see beyond the few steps that my lamp illuminates.

The last 2 lines in the first stanza intrigued me. The poet doesn’t want to see the distant scene but is content with just seeing where to step next. And that is exactly what a lamp provides. This reminded me of a verse in the Bible where God’s word is compared to a lamp.

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

God’s word guides us in living our day to day lives. We may not know what awaits us in the distant future and in these uncertain times, we don’t even know what will happen in the next month or the next year, but we have hope that He will guide us every step of the way. One step at a time, one day at a time until we reach our destination – our eternal home.

It brings to mind on how the Lord led the Israelites through the wilderness. He did not lead them on the main road though it was the shortest route. (Exodus 13:17) God in His wisdom, knew the Israelites were not ready for battle. He led them through the wilderness in a roundabout way. But He did not let them wander aimlessly alone but guided them every step of the way:

The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night.  And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people. – Exodus 13: 21-22 NLT

What a wonderful God we serve! He is loving and kind, He cares about us. He is with us always, He wakes us day after day with new mercies and grace for each day. He has blessed us with yet another year in our lives. And He will surely guide us every step of the way through all the transitions and different circumstances this year too, just like how He has been faithful in the years past. He will remain faithful, till we reach the place he has prepared for us for all eternity.