The Write Conversation: Dipping the Quill Deeper: Finding the Path the Light Shines Upon

Send forth your light and your truth, David wrote in the 43rd psalm, so they may guide me. Let them bring me to your holy mountain and to your dwelling places (ISV).

I could spend hours—literally hours—digging into the Holy Writ. With each line of verse, I stop to peer into the original text. What Hebrew or Greek or Aramaic word was used here? What do those particular words mean? How are they applied to the text? What was going on when the words were originally penned or penned about?

So was the case recently as I pored over Psalm 43. The third verse stopped me, calling me to “dip the quill deeper.”

Send forth your light . . .

I stopped at the word “light,” immediately calling to mind other verses (there are 123 of them, but I won’t list them all here) where the Hebrew word אוֹר (‘owr, pronounced: ore) is used. One of the first lines of Scripture includes this word, which means: illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.):—bright, clear, day, light (-ning), morning, sun (Strong’s Definitions H215).

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:3, NIV).

There is, of course, there is the line often quoted from Psalm 119: 105: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (KJV). We often note that the lamp is only bright enough to shine where our feet are . . . but just how far does that light shine on the path?

In Psalm 43, David (although David is not listed as the author of 43, this sounds like David) added something more to his request for light. He also asked for “truth,” which, in the Hebrew is אֱמֶת (‘emeth, pronounced: eh'·meth), which means: stability; (figuratively) certainty, truth, trustworthiness:—assured(-ly), establishment, faithful, right, sure, true (-ly, -th), verity (Strong’s Definitions H539).

And why did David ask for these things? According to his next line: let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell (NIV).

David was speaking of Zion, to the place where he had brought the Ark of the Covenant. To the place where, one day, his son, Solomon, would build the temple. Previous to that, he may have been speaking of Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, where Moses met with God and where Elijah ran after hearing that Jezebel was after him. David needed to hear from God. He needed God’s guidance, but first, he wanted to get to the source—God.

But if he were writing these words today, where would that be? The temple is gone. No one is sure which part of Horeb was the meeting place for God and Moses or God and Elijah.

Today, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God dwells in me. And He dwells in you. So, how can we possibly write (or quote) such lines as the one David penned? Yet, I believe, we can. Because, too often, we lose our way. In these days of pandemic, these days of riots and uncertainty, these days of everyone’s obscenity-laced opinion being screamed across social media, and in these days where the rules of publishing are changing more rapidly than most can keep up with in order to reflect the changing times … we may feel lost. We need God’s light and His truth to guide us back to where we can find Him inside ourselves.

So, today, as I am pondering these things, I remind myself that God hasn’t moved. He doesn’t leave me. I may not recognize or rely on Him at times, but He has not left. I may put more of my faith in what the world tells me than what His Word tells me, but that doesn’t make His light and truth any less powerful. As the Father, He sits upon the throne; as the Son, He stands to the right of the Father, and as the Holy Spirit, He dwells in you and me.

This is a privilege, and honor. But, for writers, it also carried a responsibility.

Heavenly Father let your Light and your Truth shine through my words, both spoken and written, so that others may find their path back to you. May they be the re-center button on their spiritual GPS. I pray in the name of the One who is the Light and is the Truth. Amen.

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Dipping the Quill Deeper: Finding the Path the Light Shines Upon - @EvaMarieEverson on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Eva Marie Everson is the president of Word Weavers International and the director of its two conferences. She is the multiple award-winning author of nearly 40 works and has received awards as a speaker and Bible teacher. Eva Marie is often seen at writers conferences across the States. She served as a mentor for Jerry B. Jenkins’ Christian Writers Guild for several years, and taught as a guest professor at Taylor University in 2011. She and her husband make their home in Central Florida where they enjoy their grandchildren. They are owned by one small dog and a princess cat.