December 3: The Antithesis to Darkness

Описание: As a child, one of the tv shows that absolutely terrified me was a show called "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" That title alone clued me in to the fact that the show wasn’t for me because my answer to it was an easy “Yes;” I was afraid of the dark. I was afraid of dark places where some evil or unknown thing could be lurking just out of sight.

As we talk about light this Advent season, we have to consider its opposite image: darkness. While there is much that could be said about what light and dark mean in the Bible, it is enough today to recognize that darkness tends to represent some state of brokenness, evil, sin, or unrest that is experienced by people. That is certainly where the people of God find themselves in Isaiah 9:2, when they are described as “walking in darkness” and “living in the land of darkness.” They are facing oppressive, hopeless forces and need a word of hope to endure that moment.

Perhaps you know what darkness feels like. It could be a sickness that lingers over you; a relationship with a friend or loved one that is fractured; a sense of loneliness that hangs over you; some sin or its effect that you can’t shake off; or even a fear over the state of our planet that fills you with anxiety and hopelessness for the future. From time to time, we all experience the effects of evil in the world that the Bible refers to as darkness.

But it is into that darkness that Isaiah 9:2 also promises a light that will dawn. The Bible doesn’t fill us with fear over darkness and leave us there, but promises us that in the moments where the darkness feels heaviest, we can hope anew that God, who is light himself, will break through with the promise that the darkness has not and cannot win. God’s light has broken into your story today, and because of that we can dare to hope and sing for joy as we walk through any darkness.

REFLECTION
• Where are places in life that I feel or see darkness?
• How can the good news of the Gospel give me hope that light can still shine into my darkness?

PRAYER
Father, thank You for Jesus, the light of the world. I ask that You would help me to find hope in Him during my own moments of darkness, and to point to Him as the light for a world that needs His hope. Amen.
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—Ryan Kirkland