How Spiritual Landmarks Help Us Navigate Life When It’s Dark
One moonless night on the streets of a quiet neighborhood, before the invention of the smartphone, the darkness made reading a map or finding street signs impossible. Driving alone in the unfamiliar city, I fought back tears of frustration and panic as I passed a building for the fourth time that night, lost and confused.
Spotting a gas station with lights on, I pulled into the lot and walked up to the attendant. “Can you help me find my way home?” He kindly gave me directions, but “east, west, north, and south” might as well be a foreign language to me, so I left as disoriented as when I arrived.
By God’s grace, I eventually found my way home. My husband patiently listened as I shamefully confessed the reason for my late return. He gave up on teaching me proper orientation years ago, reluctantly accepting that the only effective navigational method for me is to identify landmarks.
Lost in the Dark
Baffled by my directional impairment, the rest of my family tries to help with instructions to “just look at the sun!” But what if it’s dark and cloudy? How do I find my way when I can’t see what’s around me or when I can’t see the stars or the sun or the street signs?
The start of a new year can sometimes feel a bit like wandering into darkness. We may have plans, goals, or even resolutions, but the reality is that our future is as clear to us as a misty, moonless night in a strange land. How will we navigate the next twelve months when we take a wrong turn, are blindsided by the unexpected, or find ourselves in uncharted territory?
Several years ago, during a season of extraordinarily difficult circumstances surrounding physical health, financial stress, and relational conflict, I felt like I was wandering in circles in the dark, getting nowhere. Day after day, I put one foot in front of the other, but I had more questions than answers, completely perplexed by what was happening in my life and the lives of those around me.
Even though I read God’s Word daily, prayed almost constantly, and sought counsel from mature, godly Christians, I felt absolutely clueless. Why is this happening? How do I deal with this? When will it end?
Finding True North
In desperation, I confessed to a friend that I didn’t know how I could go on without answers. She responded with a question that cast light on my life and became my “True North.” It’s what I use to reorient myself when I feel lost.
“What do you know for sure?”
No matter how many unknowns I face, no matter how chaotic my circumstances, there are some things I know for sure—truths as familiar to me as my own name. No matter how dark the night or how treacherous the trail is, these truths shine enough to keep me from stumbling.
What I know for sure might not be the same as what you know for sure. My “spiritual landmarks” will have overlap with yours but likely be different in some ways because you and I have not traveled the same path. But I’d like to share a few of mine with you anyway. Take a walk with me along my “map of faith.”
God’s Word gives life. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
God’s Word is powerful. Far beyond mere information, the Bible creates transformation—no matter how dark the situation. Alive and active, God’s Word affects our lives every day and in every circumstance when we choose to read, study, and obey it. As the psalmist declares in Psalm 19, God’s Word restores the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, and enlightens the eyes.
When I feel parched, empty, and disoriented from wandering in a wilderness, God’s Word is the Bread of Life and the Living Water. This truth—this spiritual landmark—compels me to open my Bible in the dark times because I know it sustains me, nourishes me, and breathes life into me every time I read or hear it. I honestly don’t know how I could live without it.
I can always get the wisdom I need from God. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5).
I take God at his word, and he never fails me. Sometimes he requires me to wait longer than I’d like, but God never withholds wisdom. As Christians, God calls us to wisdom (Prov. 3:13; 4:7; Matt. 7:24–27; 10:16). And God always gives us what we need to walk in obedience to his will (2 Pet. 1:3)—which is actually another one of my spiritual landmarks!
This promise fills us with peace. When life seems dark and confusing, I ask God for wisdom knowing with absolute certainty that he’ll provide it. Trusting him, I can rest as I wait for him to give me the wisdom, direction, and guidance I need to obey his will.
The right thing to do is always the most loving thing to do. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love . . . if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind . . . . It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful” (1 Cor. 13:1–5).
Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love him first and then to love others (Matt. 22:36–40). Whenever I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, I ask myself, “What’s most loving?”
Note my question is not, “What feels most loving?” Sometimes the most loving thing to do is actually quite difficult and uncomfortable. My feelings don’t dictate what love is. God’s Word tells us what love looks like. First Corinthians 13 is a great place to start, reminding us that love is truthful and selfless. So, the right and most loving thing to do is not necessarily the most comfortable or likable thing to do.
We could even flip this landmark because the reverse is also true—the most loving thing to do is always the most right thing to do. If I want to love others well, I must do what’s right according to God’s Word, even when it’s hard or painful.
While this landmark sometimes leads me into challenging situations, it guides me well and brings clarity to otherwise ambiguous choices.
Spiritual Landmarks: What Do You Know For Sure?
These are only three of the landmarks on my “map of faith,” but there are many more.
What about you? What do you know for sure? What are the landmarks on your spiritual map? At the start of this new year, before embarking on another great unknown, take some time to consider what you know for sure. Then, next time you start to feel lost, disoriented, or in the dark, find those landmarks and let God’s Word guide your next steps.
Jana Carlson is a writer, Bible teacher, and mentor. She inspires and teaches women and writers to love the Bible, experience its transforming power for every aspect of life, and wield the Word for God’s glory. She’s a member of Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel in Alberta, Canada, where she serves as a blog coordinator, editor, and women’s ministry leader. Connect with her at janacarlson.com.