I have sensitive feet. Whenever I go to the beach, I always wear sandals or shoes. I watch so many other people running around with bare feet and walking over sand and rocks and I can’t imagine.

But, the time to be extra careful when you have sensitive feet is if you are walking barefoot in the dark in your own home and you have grandchildren.

No matter how much they clean up and you clean up afterward, the random lego or piece of some farm house or something is going to jump out and you are going to step on it. Go into the kitchen in the middle of the night for a drink of water and you might get… Ouch!!

Walking in the dark can be dangerous.

But, no matter how careful you are, you can get hurt walking in darkness.

The Bible talks about walking in darkness.  Especially comparing walking in darkness to not walking with God.

Take Proverbs 4.

The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,

which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

But the way of the wicked is like total darkness.

They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

When we aren’t follow God’s ways, it is an invitation to stumble along a lot in life.  And you can get hurt along the way.

But, there is something else that can happen when you walk in the darkness.

You can get lost.

I was recently camping with Greg up in Yosemite. We hiked North Dome. I had never been to this campground before and for one thing, there are no lights at night. So, when I have to go to the bathroom it is wise to bring a flashlight. I didn’t need no stinking flashlight! I found the bathroom, but when I set out back to our campsite, of course I go the wrong way. I end up wandering in the complete opposite direction into some other campsites in the middle of the night.

When you walk in darkness, you can get lost. Like the familiar passage from Isaiah 9 says,

The people who walk in darkness

will see a great light.

For those who live in a land of deep darkness,

a light will shine.

Yes, when you aren’t following God’s ways you can get hurt and you can get lost.

This is why God uses a pillar a fire to guide the Israelites in the wilderness. This is why my Yosemite salvation is similar.  NEXT SLIDE

I am saved because Greg loves fire, and I so I just stopped, and looked for the brightest campfire. Sure enough, the campfire above all campfires leads me home. Greg builds a beacon!

Here he is he just preparing for the evening.

This time I learned two things.

One is, you can get lost walking in the darkness. Follow the light.

The second thing I leaned is the next time I had to go, the forest behind the tent is just fine.

But, you can get hurt walking in the dark and you can get lost.

ME

When have you had a problem with darkness?