Dec 22nd, 2002: Chrismas Blessing - A Light Has Dawned
I came to the place where I acknowledged my need for God's grace in my life 40 years ago. The journey of faith has not been easy for me. It is not because of the lack of God's faithfulness. I fight against my needs to be in control and to be independent of God. Christmas has always been the time for me to pray over the constant struggle that I have internally. Another passage of Scripture used in Handle's Messiah helps me to have hope during such a time. It is Isaiah 9: 2.
"The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned."
I have indeed become aware of that great light since Christmas 1980. It is the light that continues to reveal the darkness of my own heart. It has also taken away the callousness of that heart. We have experienced the darkness of this world in 2020. We prefer to look for answers somewhere else or point our finger at others for our problems.
Let us not be overwhelmed and know that the light has dawned. We no longer need to be afraid of the darkness of this world. We need to stay close to the light, so we are not misguided and deceived by the very same darkness. Darkness will never understand light. That has been an incredible challenge for me as I try to follow the light. My prayer is we will overcome the confusion of darkness. It has been casting its shadow around the world these days.