Greetings, friends, and welcome to another Gospel According to post, where we connect the best stories and songs that humanity has to offer with deeper truths from Scripture! I was listening to the 80s rock station with my dad a couple of years ago now and this song, “In The Light” by Led Zeppelin, stuck out to me. It’s surprisingly deep! If you feel like the world has gone dark and you’re carrying burdens tht feel to heavy to bear, then this post is for you. Hope you enjoy!
Fandom: “And if you feel that you can’t go on/ And your will’s sinking low/ Just believe, and you can’t go wrong/ In the light you will find the road, you will find the road” – Led Zeppelin, “In The Light”
Verses: Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 6:22-23, Psalm 36:9, 43:3, John 8:12, Exodus 13:21-22, Psalm 55:22
Truth: Jesus is the Light we all need to find our way.
fandom
Okay, this has got to be one of the longest songs ever written, or at least one of the longest in this genre. Its over eight minutes long, and the first 1:45 or so is all instrumentals! I’m sure the version that my dad and I heard on the radio must’ve been edited, but we still heard quite a bit of intro before the lyrics kicked in. And it’s outside of my usual taste in music, with some rather screechy-sounding electronic tools that I can’t quite identify. I do love this style of music once the drums and guitar kick in though: classic 80s rock, baby!
This is about the last genre you’d expect to get Biblical truth out of, but the Lord is full of surprises. Here are some of my favorite lines from “In The Light” by Led Zeppelin:
And if you feel that you can't go on
And your will's sinking low
Just believe, and you can't go wrong
In the light you will find the road...
As you would for me, oh, I would share your load
Let me share your load...
Everybody needs the light
Ooh, yeah, yeah,
Ooh, baby
Everybody, everybody, everybody
Sure enough they do
There are quite a few verses in the Bible that talk about a Light, but while Led Zeppelin falls short of telling us where to find it, Scripture tells us exactly Who He is. Let’s explore!
verses
Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105 NASB20
It’s crazy to me how similar this verse is to the lyrics of “In the Light.” Like literally, the Word is the light that will help us find the road, as in what path we should take in life. It’s that simple!
When you walk, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you.
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And rebukes for discipline are the way of life
Proverbs 6:22-23 NASB20
Here’s another explanation of the Light according to Scripture: commandment and teaching, even when we don’t want to hear them, are truly what we need to live a good life.
For the fountain of life is with You; In Your light we see light.
Send out Your light and Your truth, they shall lead me; They shall bring me to Your holy hill And to Your dwelling places.
Psalm 36:9, 43:3 NASB20
All of Scripture is an expression of God’s heart and character, including the Old Testament. Even the dusty depths of Leviticus and Numbers show us how much effort God put into ensuring that, under the Old Covenant, His people had a way to be in relationship with Him. So when we read the Word, we have an opportunity to find and know the Light of the World, not just in words, but as a Person who cares deeply for us.
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
John 8:12 NASB20
Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth as a human. He showed us exactly how we should live and the things that are most important to God. Following Him means that we never have to wonder what we should do. When we feel lost and alone, all we have to do is call out to Him for help. When we aren’t sure what to do, all we have to ask ourselves is, “What would Jesus do?” (I know that last bit is a little cheesy, but it’s true!).
And the LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.
He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from the presence of the people.
Exodus 13:21-22 NASB20
I wanted to include this passage because it speaks to God’s character in the Old Testament. Sometimes we look back and think that God was vengeful and capricious under the Old Covenant, smiting people for the smallest of offenses. And while He is sovereign over all people, and He cannot overlook sin, His character is also infinitely loving and merciful. One of the best ways to see that is the way that God rescued His people when they were enslaved in Egypt and took care of them as they traveled to the wilderness. In this passage, as the Egyptian army pursued them on one side and the impassible Red Sea drew nearer on the other, God showed the Israelites His glory and presence day and night. He never left them, and He ultimately delivered them, once and for all. Praise God!
Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
Psalm 55:22 NASB20
This verse speaks to the “I will share your load, let me share your load” part of Led Zeppelin’s “In The Light.” We are called to trust the Lord with all of our problems, worries, and concerns, giving it all to Him and resting in the secure knowledge that He will sustain us.
application
In response to the verses we’ve looked at today, here are three “I will” statements that will help us live out the Word IRL:
- I will look for the Light that i need by reading the Word and doing what it says
- I will give Jesus my burdens and anxieties and let Him “share my load”
- I will trust that my Light will never leave, forsake, or fail me, ever, ever, ever
- (bonus!) I will share the Light that I know with the people I know, giving encouragement and hope in a dark world
my journal pages
the Gospel according to Led Zeppelin – “In the Light”
I believe that the Gospel message, or the steps of becoming a believer and receiving the gift of salvation, can be broken up into three parts:
- I am. Who is God? What is He like? Who are we, and why are we here? Is there more to life than just the time between our birth and our death?
- God is the Creator and Lord of everything that we know. He is light, He is absolutely perfect, and He is all-powerful and all-knowing. He is also love, and He created each and every one of us to live in relationship with Him. We, on the other hand, are hard-wired to resist that relationship. Because of the rebellion of the first humans, our nature is to resist God’s rule, and we are therefore separated from Him. This separation is called sin. Our sin causes us to feel a void or emptiness that we try to fill with other relationships or pursuits (like pleasure or success), but that can only truly be filled with the relationship with God that we were meant to have. For more thoughts on this, check out this post.
- With you. How can I “fix” my sin problem and find joy, peace, and a relationship with God?
- There is only one way to restore the relationship that we were always meant to have with the God who created us, and that is Jesus. As we already discussed above, Jesus, the Son of God, came as a human to rescue and restore us while we were weak, helpless to fix ourselves. He showed the love of God for us by subjecting Himself to all of the indignities and suffering of the Cross, and died a criminal’s death, even though He had done no wrong. Because of His perfect sacrifice, Jesus was able to end the eternal separation between us and God, and now gives us the choice to receive His gift of salvation and eternal life. For more thoughts, see this post.
- Always. God shows His faithfulness and steadfast love for His people (originally Israel, now including all who believe in Him) throughout Scripture. He will always be with us, and gives us reminders of His presence and His truth through Holy Spirit, who inhabits every believer. Through Him, we have eternal forgiveness of sin, access to His throne room through prayer, and the ability to grow into the people we were always meant to be, free from the power of sin. After we die, we have the promise of Heaven, where we will see our Lord face to face and never have to suffer or be separated from Him again. For more thoughts, see this post.
If you’re reading this and you don’t have a relationship with the Lord, what are you waiting for? You can have peace and confidence knowing that your past, present, and future are secure. Click on any of the links above to find out more, or feel free to email me at thefangirlfulfilled@gmail.com or DM me @the.fangirl.fulfilled to talk about it more. I’d love to share with you!
If you’re reading this and you have a relationship with Christ, praise God! I’m so glad! Here’s how we can use “In the Light” by Led Zeppelin to share the Gospel with all our peoples:
- I am: This world is a dark place, and it’s hard to tell what the Right Thing to Do is. We need Light to show us where to go and how to live, and Jesus IS that Light! Everything else we might rely on, especially our own hearts or understanding, is fallible. It will fail us in the end, but He never will.
- with you: Just like Led Zeppelin promises not to “leave you standing out in the cold,” and God’s pillar of fire/cloud “never left its place in front of the people,” Jesus promises never to leave us or forsake us when we abide in Him. Even when we stray into our own desires or temptations, he is never far from us.
- always: We will always need Light, and Jesus will always be the Light that we need. Like sending letters to a loved one back in the day, or texting them in our modern world, reading and studying the Word, praying constantly, and walking with other believers is a wonderful thing right now. But one day, the Lord Himself will be our Light, and we will see Him face to face.
free printable!
conclusion
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post about Led Zeppelin’s “In the Light” and how it relates to our universal need for a Savior to light our path.
What’s your favorite song? I’d love to listen to it!
Happy fangirling!
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[…] In other news, I published one of my trademark Gospel According to posts this past Monday. It’s based on a Led Zeppelin song that I used to hear on the radio coming home from college with my dad. Truly the Word can speak to us in all kinds of ways! You can read that post here : ). […]