Bible Reading: Psalm 119:97-101
I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. Psalm 119:99, NIV
TOM SAWYER AND Becky Thatcher were trapped. They had wandered around in the cave for three days. They had eaten the last little bit of food Tom had saved from the picnic, and they had only a stub of wax left to use for a candle. They had nearly given up hope of ever being found or escaping from the dark, winding passages of the cave when Tom had an idea.
He pulled a wad of kite string out of his pocket and tied one end to a projection in the walls of the cave. Then, unwinding the kite string in his hand, he inched down one dark passageway, continuing only until the end of the string. He tried this again down another passage but reached the end of the string in darkness.
Tom tried a third time, following the string down a cave corridor until he reached the farthest he could go without letting go of the string. He was about to turn back when he glimpsed a far-off speck that looked like daylight. Dropping the line, he groped down the dark passage until he reached the hole, poked his head through it, and saw the familiar shores of the Mississippi River below.
Returning to Becky as fast as he could, he took her with him and retraced his way along the kite line until they both emerged from the cave into the warmth and freedom of daylight!
That story is from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer—a classic of American litera-ture-by Mark Twain. It also illustrates what the Bible does for us.
You see, a lot of people get lost in life, just like Tom and Becky got lost in the cave. People lose the ability to know which way to go, which way is right. They spend their time wandering and guessing, hoping that they’re right, but not really knowing.
But God’s Word can act for us like the kite string did for Tom and Becky. The psalmist said in Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.” The Bible shows the right direction because it points us to God. We may still feel lost sometimes and uncertain about what is right or wrong. But if we rely on the Bible, it will be much easier to find-and keep to-the right way.
REFLECT: Would Tom and Becky have escaped the cave if Tom had left the kite string in his pocket? What if he had only used the kite string to find his way down one passage? How might those questions apply to your use of the Bible to find the right way?
ACT: Carry a length of string in your pocket today to remind you how the Bible shows us the right direction.
PRAY: “God, the area of my life that seems most uncertain right now is ____________.
Don’t let me forget to keep talking to you about it and reading your Word to get the insight I need.”
