A New Day

By: Pastor Johnie Akers     

Psalm 119:105, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”  Pigeons are famous for their ability to find their way home, even over enormous distances.  One pigeon released by the U.S. Army Signal Corps actually traveled over 2,300 miles to find its way home.  That’s why it was extraordinary in 1988, when 3,000 homing pigeons released in France nearly all failed to find their way home.  What went wrong?  Scientists have discovered that one of the ways pigeons navigate is by following the earth’s magnetic field.  In this instance, a solar flare, a massive explosion on the Sun, occurred just two days before the French pigeons were released.  This flare temporarily but severely disrupted the earth’s magnetic field.  The pigeons were confused and unable to find their way home.  By the same token, do you ever feel like you’ve lost your way?  Like the little pigeons, do you ever feel as if your innate sense of direction in this life has gone awry?  Where can we find direction, in a confusing world, where we are so bombarded daily with messages and signals that frankly, would make a homing pigeon confused?  Friend, there is a source of clear, unchangeable direction—God’s Word.  Notice our Scripture lesson today.  “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”  In the days of the psalmist, people who traveled when it was dark would often attach small oil lamps to their lower extremities making it possible for them to see the path for each step they took.  The path was illuminated one step at a time, because of these little lamps.  Even so, we have a light that can give us, day by day, step by step, the illumination we need to clearly see what lies before us and which direction to take.  Today, if, like the little pigeons, your “homing” signal has been distorted, open up the pages of God’s inspired and infallible Word; for therein, you will find the direction you need and the answers to the confusing issues of life.  The earth’s magnetic field may become disrupted, but God’s Word never will, and its direction for all who will follow, will always be clear, for this and each new day.