“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned… You have increased their joy; they rejoice before you!” ~Isaiah 9:2-3

Maybe the darkness is too much. Maybe it’s too dark and there is no joy and you do not feel like celebrating. Maybe it’s been too dark for too long and the light’s just not getting through.

I realize more and more every year that Christmas is not great for everybody. For a lot of people, Christmas is hard. Because the darkness is so real. And constant. And deep. For you, maybe.

The lights on all the houses, the illuminated trees, the songs of glad tidings and good cheer, the sweet cookies and pies, and all the trimmings that go with the most wonderful time of the year–it can’t overcome the darkness.

There’s the literal darkness of December and January to deal with. Short daylight hours and bone-chilling cold don’t lend themselves naturally to joy and celebration. And it makes that other kind of darkness worse. Or it brings it more into focus.

Another page of the calendar is turning and the worries and anxieties multiply. Will this be the year everything falls apart and I’m ruined? Is my family going to stay an irredeemable mess? Will my depression ever go away? Will the pain of my deep loss ever subside? Is this the year the other shoe finally drops and crushes me?

Maybe, for you, the darkness wins every time. Every time. You can’t see over the horizon. The darkness is too pervasive to think a dawning light could drive away your shadows. That kind of hope is only for people who are already winners. People who already have it pretty good.

No. Not if you believe God’s promise. His promise.

God’s promise is not for the winners. It’s not for people who are already living in the light. It’s not for the whole and healthy or the powerful and rich. The promise is for those who are living in the darkness.

On THEM the light will dawn! The people walking in darkness–THOSE PEOPLE–have seen a great light! On THOSE living in the land of the shadow of death–On THEM!!–a light has dawned!

If you’re living in that dark land, it only takes a tiny mustard seed of humility and faith to embrace God’s promise. If you can admit that the darkness is inside you, then you are already in a position to receive the promise.

Jesus has come. He did. He came. The light has shone.

And the light will shine. He will come again. He is. The present darkness in this world, the darkness in your life, doesn’t stand a chance.

Peace,
Allan