Light to Live By

Read: John 1:1-5

Have you ever tried to walk through a room at night without turning the lights on? Even in the most familiar spaces, I’m still more likely to run my foot into the edge of a sofa or our bed than I am to successfully navigate my way through the room.

Or have you ever noticed a change in your mood or attitude when the weather has been dark and dreary for several days? It’s hard for me to wake up and find energy on a good day, and those dark days zap my motivation completely. I’m grumpy, tired, and need more than a few extra cups of coffee to get going. I get excited when I wake up to a gorgeous sunrise and find myself struggling to get work done in the winter when the days are a shorter – and darker.

Light matters. It helps us navigate through dark spaces and it affects our moods. But more importantly, today’s Scripture reminds us that “What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.” All of our days – the sunny ones, the dark ones, the rainy ones, the hard ones – God created them all. But the light that came out of darkness, the one that will never go out? That’s where we can find hope – and an anchor for our souls on the hard days. When we feel like we have no idea what we’re supposed to do with the gifts and talents God has given us, or we feel like we’re in the dark about what our next step is, we can embrace the waiting as a season to lean into the One who can illuminate the path – in His perfect timing.