Read and reflect on Isaiah 9:1–7.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. –Isaiah 9:2 KJV

One night the motion-detecting floodlight on our house came on and stayed on, instead of automatically shutting off after five minutes.

 “The light isn’t working right,” I told my husband, after flipping the switch several times. 

“There must be something out there, setting it off,” he told me. 

The light is programmed so it remains off until the imbedded sensor detects motion in front of it and automatically turns on the floodlight, illuminating the driveway and the surrounding yard. The light is also programmed so it doesn’t come on during the day, when there is plenty of natural light to see where you’re going.

Even though I couldn’t see what was triggering the light, there was something in the darkness beyond the beams of the light the sensor was picking up. So said my husband. But I’m one of those people who have to see it to believe it, so I wasn’t sure if I agreed. Since I couldn’t see anything, I figured the light was malfunctioning. We couldn’t have the thing turning on in the middle of the night every time a deer or some other critter tripped the sensor. We weren’t expecting anyone, so I used the manual override feature and turned it off for the night.

But the light does have its advantages. It saves on the electric bill and gives us light to see where we’re going when we come home after dark.

Living in this world, we’re surrounded by spiritual darkness and will stumble unless we have something to light our way and give us understanding. What can give us spiritual light? There is only one source, God Himself: “The LORD is my light” (Psalm 27:1). 

Through His Word He gives us understanding and guides us in the way we are to go: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). 

If that wasn’t enough, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to make things clearer for us: “I am the light of the world,” He said when He was here. “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). 

Even when He left this world physically and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, He did not leave us in the dark. He gave us the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Triune God, to guide us into all truth, teach us what we need to know, comfort us, and be with us forever (John 14:16–17, 26; 16:5–15). 

Knowing we humans need something we can see and feel, He told us we Christians are to be His lights, shining in this dark world of sin and grief and rebellion: “You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14–16). 

He who is spiritual light created physical light (Genesis 1:3–5), and at the end of time, when physical light is destroyed with the old creation, He Himself will be all the light that is needed: “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of the Lord illumined it. The Lamb is its light” (Revelation 21:23). “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light” (Revelation 22:5).

Yes, much spiritual darkness surrounds us. But God’s love is the motion detector that senses our stumbling and groping, reaching for something to show us the way. His light is the only light that will illumine our life’s path. When it blazes in the darkness, we can choose to turn it off, walk out of reach of its guiding beams, or stay in the light and follow the only way that will bring us salvation, joy, and eternal life in a place of light forever.

As I light the second Advent candle, Lord God, I am reminded that You are my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? No one. What shall I fear? Nothing. Thank You. Amen.

From God, Me, and a Cup of Tea for the Seasons, © 2018 by Michele Huey. All rights reserved.