From the Darkness Light Has Dawned

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5 (ESV)

Winter keeps coming, a heaviness in the air and in my chest, if I admit it. Sometimes, it’s hard to see my way through this time of perpetual darkness, the appearance of the sun so late, its sinking so early in the day. Even harder still when I have to take a puppy out in the whipping Wisconsin wind.

On the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, we see the least amount of light. A veil of darkness makes us wish we could curl up and hibernate all winter.

Like the literal dark of this winter day, we can grow weary with an emotional or spiritual exhaustion from the hard things we endure. Whether it’s more bloodshed on the news, late nights spent waiting for a prodigal to return, another month passing with barely making all the bills, or a season where joy has been elusive, we make our way through the day with that same temptation to close our eyes and open them to a time where things are different.

Life can be hard. Darkness seems to prevail. Will this winter of our hearts always last?

We sit, and wait, and wonder.

But Light has dawned early, the Bright and Morning Star awake and alight with life and hope. Jesus has come into this world and taken darkness captive; He has overshadowed it by the power of His light. In Him there is no darkness, and He does not fear going to the depths for us. The darkness is not dark to Him. Nothing in your situation can scare Him away; it’s the opposite—in your suffering, He draws close.

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What an honor to be over at Proverbs 31 today talking about holding to the light of Jesus in the midst of our darkness. Will you join me there and read the rest?