We started out with a game called The Distracted Obstacle Course. Kyle had Dorrian, Samantha, Rachel Christian and Caitlin work together to get through the obstacle course without falling into the “pit of lava.” The goal of the game was to get the four “blind” people safely through the course by listening to their leader who could see. With their eyes closed Dorrian, Christian, Caitlin and Samantha barely made it through the course without falling, but thanks to their leader who could see they made it safely through. Once this group accomplished this task Kyle had everyone else in the class go through the course in front of the four “blind” people separating the seeing leader from the blind. This time the “blind” people fell into the lava and were therefore unable to accomplish their goal because they could not hear their leader.
Isaiah 50:10-11 says, “Let him who walks in the dark,
who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of t torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.”
Why would God tell us that lighting fires to see in the darkness is not a good idea? He says that if you do light a fire for yourself you will lie down in torment. In other words, you will come to the end of your life and be in deep regret for the way you lived your life.
To understand why a lit torch is bad we must understand what a lit torch is and what darkness is. Darkness is a time in your life when things are not going the way you planned they would. Your friends at school don’t seem to like you, you’re not getting along with your parents, or you just don’t feel good. It may be a time when you feel like Christianity is not working for you like it used to. Your quiet times feel dry. You’re exhausted every day and it feels like if you wake up to read your Bible in the morning you won’t survive. It may even be a time when you are just bored and it seems like nothing satisfies you.
During these times of darkness God tells us in Isaiah to trust in the name of the Lord and rely on God. Does it take more trust to walk in a lit cave or listen to a voice telling you where to go in darkness? There is no trust needed in a lit pathway, you know where you are going.
So what are lit torches? A lit torch is anything that places you in control of your situation rather than God. If you are in a dark time of your life you have the option of trusting in God or lighting a torch. For example, your friends at school are ignoring you because you don’t have the looks or the clothes like they do. Lighting a torch would be focusing on looks and style to bring you friends rather than God and character. Many people constantly stare at the mirror trying to look just right so that they will be accepted by others. This is lighting a torch.
Another lit torch is boyfriends and girlfriends. If you are at a time in your life when you feel lonely or are struggling with acceptance it is easy to take the easy way out and just get a boyfriend or girlfriend. Everyone else at your school is doing it and it seems like it would feel so good to have a partner. You would no longer be the lone ranger. God, though, doesn’t want us to light the torch of boyfriends and girlfriends. He wants us to trust in Him and find our satisfaction in Him.
Some of us are bored with living for God so we go to our video game systems or MySpace to take away the boredom. Others of us are tired and feel like if we get up to read our Bibles and pray that we will be exhausted. We use sleep as our torch to provide us with energy when God wants us to trust in Him to give us energy.
The reason why lighting a torch is so bad is because what starts to happen is we think, “I’m athletic. I’m smart. I have a boyfriend. I have good looks. I have an X-Box. I’m funny. I have A’s…” Lighting a torch is all about “I” and what “I” have. It places you in control rather than God. It is easy to light a torch because we want to see where we are going and be in control of our lives. We must learn to trust in God when life takes turn we don’t like. If we look to our grades, girlfriends, looks, video games and sleep to bring us comfort and happiness during these hard times of our life God says that we will lie down in torment. Translated this means that you will have come to the end of your life and realize that you have wasted it. You never experienced God’s blessings because you always lit torches. You never learned to simply trust in Him in the difficult times and let Him bring you happiness. Don’t miss out on the life that God has for you. Let Him guide you in the good times and the dark times.
Ryan Austin
Element Youth Leader
