In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:1-5
The year 2020 has certainly held its share of darkness for many people. We have watched and experienced suffering, anger, illness, loss, and fear. But there is good news! The darkness did not win because we know the One who has the Power to overcome it.
Jesus, the Word made flesh, is our Light and our Salvation. He defeats the darkness, but even more than that, He dwells with us -He stays with us, He sits with us, He cares for us every single moment we experience pain or suffering. As the fifth stanza of the following hymn so beautifully declares, “God dwells with us in darkness and makes the night as day;” Jesus is the Light of the world. He is with you today, tomorrow, and forever. Celebrate that you are a dearly loved child of God.
Hymn: The Night Will Soon Be Ending
The night will soon be ending;
The dawn cannot be far.
Let songs of praise ascending
Now greet the Morning Star!
All you whom darkness frightens
With guilt or grief or pain,
God’s radiant Star now brightens
And bids you sing again.
The One whom angels tended
Comes near, a child, to serve;
Thus God, the judge offended,
Bears all our sins deserve.
The guilty need not cower,
For God has reconciled
Through His redemptive power
All those who trust this child.
The earth in sure rotation
Will soon bring morning bright,
So run where God’s salvation
Glows in a stable’s light.
As old as sin’s perversion
Is mercy’s vast design:
God brings a new creation—
This child its seal and sign.
Yet nights will bring their sadness
And rob our hearts of peace,
And sin in all its madness
Around us may increase.
But now one Star is beaming
Whose rays have pierced the night:
God comes for our redeeming
From sin’s oppressive might.
God dwells with us in darkness
And makes the night as day;
Yet we resist the brightness
And turn from God away.
But grace does not forsake us,
However far we run.
God claims us still as children
Through Mary’s infant Son.
Pray: Help us O Lord when we abide in darkness or we are not able to see. Take our hand and lead us to the path of light that we might walk willingly in it, observing where you are leading us. We trust you Lord, even when the media brings fear and insecurity, even when it looks like we depend more on the word of health professionals than usual. We trust you that you are working and leading people in authority in these dark times we are living in. But help us not to put the trust upon the people as they occupy most of our listening time. Amen!
Brother Endrit Journey 