What do you want more than anything this Christmas season? What do you want more than anything for 2016?
I am of the opinion that whatever your answers are to these questions that none of your desires will come to fruition without an intimate prayer life with our Savior. Forging pathways of honest conversation from the depths of our being is essential for developing this, whether its done on our knees in private, or while flying through the responsibilities of our public lives.
In this guest post by my lovely wife, Ilona Anderson, I simply want to provide a pathway of connection for you to engage God in a deep way by sharing with you an amazingly beautiful, poetic, and deeply personal prayer she wrote based on a familiar Christmas passage: Isaiah 9…
At the time it must have been extremely lonely for your children as they lived among their pagan neighbors. They probably thought that you had abandoned them and that they were long forgotten.
Little did they know. They were not forgotten. You had not abandoned them. You were paving the way and getting them ready to take part in the biggest event in all of mankind. You didn’t want them to be in darkness.
You had showered them with sparks over and over again, waiting for them to catch fire and be your light to the world. A few sparks had caught, the fire had been lit and burned for a while. The world knew about you. They saw that your light was different.
Unfortunately it seems that humanity often views different to be bad, scary and offensive. The offended ones succeeded in snuffing out the flames and your people faded into the background of history, for a while.
So in the darkness you would appear. Among your own people, both as their kin and their creator. Who else but you could have written such a chapter in the annals of the world?
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
You didn’t want them to miss this. You didn’t want them to be distracted by flickers of dying embers around them and miss the appearing of the Light of the World. How their eyes must have burned when they looked at You.
They had been in utter darkness for so long that the light had to have been painful for a while. Maybe they didn’t even recognize that the light was for them; your beautiful, incredible gift of sight to enlighten the whole world.
But you are a patient God. You knew that it would take a while for recognition to set in. You knew that the ones who would be the most ready would be the ones who were least expected to know what to watch for. Surprise!
An elderly man and his wife. A young man and even younger girl. Shepherds. Men from the east. You sure do love to do things your own crazy, unique way. There could have been no doubt that something strange was going on. Instead of making Your entrance into humanity before the masses, You picked out those who were different, who were on the outskirts of communal importance.
Maybe their eyes didn’t hurt quite as much when the light made its explosion into their view. They were scared and confused at first. But as their eyes adjusted to the light they remembered. They recognized the handiwork of the one who had been a distant memory for quite a while. You hadn’t forgotten them after all. They had forgotten, but you never did.
It was to these humble, unexpected ones that your light began its journey once again.
At times it seems like your light has faded and been swallowed up by darkness. But it continues on, never to be extinguished.
You are the light of the world, the word become flesh, wonderful counselor, mighty God, the prince of peace. You are Emmanuel – God with us. With us!
The light that dawned so long ago is spreading, growing like a wildfire. Once again your people have been given the gift of responsibility. It is ours to guard, to feed, to spread.
The question is not whether Your light will win over the darkness. It never has been. The question is still the same: Will we take that flame given us and hold it out for all the world to see? Or will we let fear, indifference, or forgetfulness snuff it out, until we blend in with the darkness, until those around us have to look elsewhere to learn of you – the great light? May it never be.
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. “
Question: What hopes or aspirations did this pathway to God stir in your mind or heart? Share your thoughts on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn through one of the tabs below.