Searching for the Light this Advent Season

There is nothing quite like stumbling through a dark room to remind you how much you need light. A few nights ago, after turning off the light in my bedroom, I decided I wasn’t actually settled in yet. So I got up to cross the room and flip the main light switch back on. But instead of reaching it quickly and gracefully, I misjudged the distance in the dark and slammed my toe squarely into the corner of the bed. Not a gentle bump, one of those hits that sends a shockwave all the way into your soul.

Standing there hopping on one foot, whisper yelling so I wouldn’t wake my wife, I had only one thought: If I could just see where I was going, I wouldn’t have hurt myself.

As Advent approaches, Isaiah’s words meet us with that same longing:

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”
Isaiah 9:2

Isaiah understood what it meant to live in a world that feels shadowed by fear, uncertainty, division, and the weight of waiting. He writes to a people stumbling, hurting, longing for clarity and safety and peace. A people trying to make their way to whatever “light switch” might bring relief.

But the hope Isaiah announces is not that we somehow find our own way out. It’s that God brings the light to us.
A child born.
A hope given.
A promise fulfilled.
A dawn breaking into the darkness.

This Advent at Lake Cities UMC, our worship series is called “Follow the Light.” Each week, we’re exploring how the light of Christ doesn’t just illuminate our path, it leads us. Guides us. Calls us to step forward even when we can’t yet see everything ahead.

Just like I needed light to keep from injuring myself in my dark bedroom, we need the Light of Christ to keep us from stumbling through this world in fear or confusion. Advent reminds us that we aren’t left alone in the dark, feeling our way through uncertainty. The Light has come. And more than that, the Light is someone we can follow, someone who knows the path, who walks with us, who shines hope into every shadowed corner of our lives.

Isaiah closes this passage with a promise that never dims:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given…”
“And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

This Light doesn’t flicker.
This Light doesn’t fail.
This Light doesn’t leave us guessing in the dark.

As Advent draws near, may you feel the first warm glow of hope rising. May you lift your eyes from whatever shadows you’re facing. And may you follow the One who steps into the darkness, not to scold us for stumbling, but to guide us home.

The Light is coming.
Let’s seek Christ together.

In God’s grip,

Pastor Chuck Church