Day 9

A Great Light

from the reading plan


Isaiah 9:1-21, Isaiah 10:1-4, Psalm 2:1-12, John 3:19-21


Over the last few weeks, I’ve found myself repeating the same words again and again to my children – the same instructions, the same warnings. Parenting is full of repetition, and I wonder, how could my children forget so quickly?

“For all this, His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still” (Isaiah 9:21). These words echo again and again in Isaiah, yet I find that out of sight is out of mind. I forget them. The people of Israel had forgotten the warnings of the prophet Isaiah. Again and again he warned them. Again and again they forgot.

We are forgetful. And forgetfulness leads to more forgetfulness. Indeed, this is actually the very nature of judgment itself: to walk in the darkness of not seeing truth, even to love that darkness, rather than light.

I find myself asking, is there a place in my life where I prefer darkness to light? Do I cling to pet rebellions, shrinking from the light? Do you? I keep finding nooks and crannies in my life where I need Christ’s light to shine.

This is always the story: like children, we are prone to forget, prone to ignore the warning, prone to wander alone in the night, pretending we know the way. But we end up hungry, thirsty, and unsatisfied (Isaiah 9:20). Sometimes we stay in the dark because we are blind to our own blindness. Sometimes we remain in the dark because we are afraid of what the light will reveal.

How can the blind be made to see? How can a forgetful people be made to remember? The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will do this.  

Isaiah’s prophecy, which is filled with rich promises, offers familiar words of good tiding: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shone” (Isaiah 9:2).

Christ beckons us to the light, to Himself. And He shines His light even upon a forgetful and rebellious people. He breaks the yoke of slavery and looses us from the power of darkness. What a comfort this is to a forgetful man such as me! God is rich in mercy! Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

Written by Caleb Faires

Post Comments (4)

4 thoughts on "A Great Light"

  1. Alex says:

    Now when I think of being a “child of God” I see God as my father and me as this stubborn little child who is so deeply loved. Sometimes ungrateful for his love and how much I need to fall into his arms and seek him.

  2. Melvin says:

    Chance after chance, He gives us His grace

  3. David Grueser says:

    This is a great opportunity to take inventory of where I am and what parts of me enjoy the darkness as opposed to the light. I know that I love to be selfish, greedy and envious of what others have and wish that for myself. I am the typical consumer; always wanting the next thing, the “better” thing. This is just one small area where I can think of off the top of my head but that small bit permeates down to other aspects of my life as well.

    Tomorrow I will wake up and the first thing I will do is give thanks for specific things in my life that I am taking for granted. I will open my heart to the gratitude of what is already in my possession and what the Lord is doing in my life. If it goes well I’ll do the next day too!

  4. Gian Musino says:

    He truly is our light and our refuge in this dark world and in every aspect of our lives.

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