Breaking Dawn

Read: Isaiah 9:1-7

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. Isaiah 9:2

IN WORD

Kingdoms come and go. So do kings. Some come with great fanfare, and some leave in great turmoil. Others rise and fall routinely, just another character in a long line of succession. But when the King of the true Kingdom came, it was a remarkable advent. Unnoticed by many, an earth-shattering event for others. The humblest yet worthiest King ever to grace His realm. Lord of an invisible realm more real than any other. Human yet divine. It was like the sun rising after creation’s deepest, darkest night.

That’s how the prophet portrays the coming King. It’s the dawning of a new era. The world was shrouded, cursed, captive, and completely unable to reach beyond its own limitations. Human hearts were incapable of fulfilling human hopes. Our ambitions were always farther than our reach. Our ability to have dreams was ever greater than our ability to attain them. We were fallen, corrupt, and destined to stay that way . . . unless someone from another world rescued us.

That’s the nature of our King. He comes from somewhere else to be one of us and to bring us back into His realm. It’s a different realm, and light can be awfully traumatic to eyes that are used to the dark. But He means for us to get used to it. He has come to change things in ways we have scarcely even dreamed.

IN DEED

The King has come to shine light into every dark corner of your life, not to expose you but to transform you into something that looks like His glory. Every hopeless thought, every cause of fear, every source of bitterness, everything that doesn’t look like a reflection of His Kingdom—all are subject to His authority. Let Him shine His light wherever He wants. Ask Him to sensitize your spirit to the newness of His touch. Open your heart to receive every impulse, every breath, every hint of His Spirit. Submit every area of your life to His reign and let Him decree His goodness into it. Open your eyes to see the great light.

ADDITIONAL READING: Isaiah 60:1-3

The Light is that which illumines every person coming into this world.

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO