“Hope is joyous anticipation of good that is not yet here or is unseen.”
Dallas Willard
“The people walking In darkness have seen a great light, on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned…and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa 9:2,6)
I am longing for the days when the sun sets around 9:00 pm rather than 4:30 pm. I came home the other day, thinking it was still afternoon, only to find the house completely dark. I immediately switched on some lights.
Sometimes it’s not that easy to turn on or see the light. Sometimes we have to wait for it. Light is such a precious thing when you are in the dark.
The prophet Isaiah talked about living in the darkness and waiting for the light. You might say, that Israel lived one long advent. Advent is a time of waiting and hoping. It’s a time of waiting in the dark for the light. Today, we experience it as the four weeks leading up to Christmas. We hope, expectantly, that light will dawn on us. We wait, hoping God will come into our midst. It’s a deep kind of hope based on our longings - the desires of our hearts that lead to wholeness, joy, and peace.
Some longings linger like a dream that is yet to come. Other longings look like a hope, sometimes a hope so precious, we may not dare say it out loud. Some hopes and dreams and longings linger, year after year, decade after decade. You may wonder if they will ever arrive yet you can’t stop hoping. You wait in the dark. You wait for the glimpse of the light your longings will lead you to.
We need the light. The light illumines things, giving us the power to see and discern. Light guides us and shows us the way we need to go. Light also reveals beauty and brings clarity to all that is around us. Light provides health and growth as it nurtures all living things. One thing we can count on is that the light will come. We need to wait for it. We need to watch for it.
Jesus said “I am the light.” (John 8:12) “In him, was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:4)
Jesus said, “I have come into the world as light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” (John 12:46)
He is the one we need. He is our light. He is the one who can satisfy our longings. He is the one who can heal and restore and redeem and make us whole. He is, the one we are waiting for.
We are on the way to Christmas.
Watch for the light.