Stuck on Low Beams
By Elin Henderson
“Cause me to know the way in which I should walk [drive] ”
Psalm 143:8b (NKJV)
Night driving can be challenging no matter where you live. Recently, we found ourselves driving after dark- - something we try to avoid like the plague here in Mozambique. Daytime driving is scary enough here; nighttime just moves into the stuff of night mares! No properly lit highway with reflector lights and bright lines; no nice shoulder; no room for two-way traffic! Instead, we found ourselves on narrow blacktop pocked with random potholes and sudden changes from blacktop to dirt without notice. Worse, mounds of dirt lay in the left-hand lane awaiting road construction crews! We shared the road with huge trucks flying by us, and with people lining the sides, preventing us from pulling over to give space to passing vehicles. Needless to say, by the time we got to our destination and pried our shaking, fear-frozen bodies out of the car, it took a good day or so just to decompress!
The only saving grace of nighttime driving is the blessed high beam lights! They allow us to see the roadside crowds, upcoming potholes, scampering animals, the occasional drunk staggering down the center...you know, the usual. We love the extra illumination those high beams give us, and are less content when we have to switch to low.
What do we do when God shuts off the high beams of His light on our path and says, “Trust me on low beam”? We squint through the windshield, struggling to make sense of the road before us, unable to see beyond a few yards… when we really want to illuminate the road to come, not to mention the shoulder with its perils! Being stuck on low beam can be scary and overwhelming as we navigate the unknown. Yet, sometimes God only shows us the path just in front of us and says, “Trust me, walk with me, I will show you where to go.” It throws us in dependence on our Good Shepherd who leads us into righteousness (Psalms 23:3), the Director of our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6), and the only LIGHT we need (Matthew 5:14, Psalms 27:1). Who knows, just around the curve, He may light up the whole road and we might get a glimpse of what lies ahead. But, in the meantime, our job is to keep driving in the light He has given us (Isaiah 2:5).
Been doing any night driving on the roads of life lately, stuck on low beam, wishing your high beam switch would work? Hang in there! He will light up just as much path as you need to get to where He wants you to go (Proverbs 4:25-27)!
GOING DEEPER:
1. In the Bible, read the verses referenced above. Which passage is most meaningful today? Memorize it!
FOR FURTHER READING:
Matthew 5:14
Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to eleven-year-old Callie and eight-year-old Elias.
