“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
Psalm 119:105
Neil Armstrong became the first human to step onto the Moon’s surface on July 21, 1969.
My family and I were among the millions who watched as Armstrong stepped from the lunar module and spoke words that became part of history:
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
I still remember it.
One small step.
That phrase resurfaced for me during our church’s 80-day journey through John Mark Comer’s Practicing the Way, a course centered on becoming apprentices of Jesus: being with Him, becoming like Him, and doing as He did.
At the conclusion of each session, we are invited to identify one small next step in our apprenticeship to Rabbi Jesus.
No giant leaps.
No striving.
No trying harder.
Just one small step.
That reminded me of something I learned years ago from business coach Dan Sullivan and his concept of The Gap and the Gain.
Sullivan teaches that we make better progress when we measure how far we have come rather than constantly measuring ourselves against some distant ideal. Ideals can give us direction, but tangible gains give us momentum.
Tangible micro-wins.
That sounds remarkably like something the Psalmist wrote:
“Your word is a lamp for my feet.”
A lamp.
Not a floodlight.
A lamp doesn’t illuminate the next ten miles. It gives you enough light to take the next step. Maybe that’s an important picture of apprenticeship.
We often want God to show us the entire road ahead. We want the five-year plan, the finished product, the breakthrough, the healed relationship, the conquered habit, the answer.
But Jesus seems far more interested in asking us to walk with Him today.
Formation of any kind is slow work.
Jesus regularly described growth with images that take time: vines, crops, trees, fruit. Nothing grows by giant leaps. It grows little by little, season by season.
Perhaps that’s why getting unstuck rarely begins with a dramatic overhaul of our lives.
It begins by staying close to Jesus, listening for His wisdom, and taking the next faithful step He puts in front of us. We may not be able to see the whole road. Maybe we don’t need to.
The lamp is enough.
Run the play.
Stay close to Jesus. Trust the light He has given you. Take one small step.
Finding Our Place in the Story
Where are you waiting for God to give you a floodlight when He may already have given you enough light for the next step?
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