Devotion Booklets for Seasons of the Church Year 2016 | Página 11

Friday—December 2nd

The Light Comes
Isaiah 9:1-2
It is the season of darkness in the northern hemisphere, with the sun absent for the majority of
each day. Throughout history this ominous seasonal darkness has evoked fear. The preChristian inhabitants of North America believed that the fleeing sunlight was their sun-god
fleeing from them. How difficult it must have been to wait and not lose hope, wondering
whether their distant, fleeing god would return to bring light, life, and warmth.
Darkness and night still have the power to evoke fear. Darkness still represents evil, chaos,
loneliness, despair, and death. We fear what we cannot see and what we do not want to see.
We fear heartbreaking news we never saw coming and never desired.
The prophet Isaiah was called to give some breaking news—heartbreaking news—to the people
of Jerusalem and Judah. Isaiah shared the dark reality of their near future. The land that God
had promised to his chosen ones would be attacked and possessed. The chosen nation would
no longer be an autonomous nation. God's chosen people would be scattered. They were left
to "look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom... thrust into
utter darkness" (Isaiah 8:22).
Yet, Isaiah also called on the people of Jerusalem and Judah to look past that fearful gloomy
future, past centuries and generations to come, and past their familiar land. He called on them
to look with sure hope to the north in Galilee where a great light would one day dawn. In
Galilee, the Savior would come to shine through the evil, chaos, loneliness, despair, and death
of this dark world.
Centuries later, that great light came to conquer darkness. We do not have an absent, distant,
or fleeing God. We have the Son who entered this dark world to bring light, life, and warmth
to all of our dark days and seasons. When we do see gloom and distress, we do not lose hope.
The light of Jesus points our eyes to the skies as we wait for him to come again and bring us to
our bright future in heaven.
PRAYER:
Lord God, may the light of your Son shine on all my days and in all my ways. Amen.
ACTIVITY:
Light a candle to celebrate Jesus as your ultimate light to brighten all your dark days and
seasons.

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