I love working puzzles, so during this past Thanksgiving weekend, I broke out a new one to puzzle over, so to speak. I was doing very well with the main picture until I got to the sky, the night sky.
Puzzles without light take a lot longer to put together.
While I finished most of the puzzle over that long break, I’ve been struggling for the past seven days with the darkness. Then I realized as I worked that life is much like this frustrating puzzle—hard to figure out when there’s no light.
God brings light into our physical world because we can’t survive without it.
Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:3-4 CSB
God also brought the Light of the World into our spiritual lives because we are lost without it.
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 1:4-5
As light invades the space, it’s easier to put the pieces together, to make sense of it all. So many in our world today are trying to make life work without the Light of Christ in their lives, and nothing makes sense; they have no purpose. You can’t see the big picture without seeing it through enlightened eyes.
My prayer for you this Christmas season is that you will let Jesus shine his light on the dark corners of your life, the areas of confusion, guilt, shame, and hurt. For he said:
“I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
By trusting your personal darkness to him, the puzzle of your life finds purpose, and the pieces come together to form a beautiful picture to his glory.
When you receive his light, you will know the joy of the nations:
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.
Isaiah 9:2
Merry Christmas