When the Light Breaks Through the Darkness

Everything feels different in the dark.

Darkness has a way of magnifying things. Our fears grow louder. Confusion settles in. Loneliness feels heavier. I know some of you are living in that space right now. Uncertainty. Illness. Grief. An endless gray that doesn’t seem to lift.

Advent does not ignore that reality. It does not pretend life is neat or easy. Advent is honest about the darkness.

But it also makes this bold claim: no darkness in your life is stronger than the light of Jesus.

Light Before the Manger

John’s Gospel begins differently than the others. Matthew, Mark, and Luke focus on what Jesus did. John pulls us back even further. He invites us into the story behind every other story.

John does not begin in Bethlehem.

He begins in eternity.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… 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

John says that life is not something Jesus discovered or received. Life resides in him. And this life is not merely biological existence. It is life as God intended it to be. Full. Meaningful. Connected.

Jesus later describes it this way: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Put another way, Jesus cares deeply about the quality of your days, not just the quantity of them. Many people are alive, but not really living. Like a phone with a full battery but no connection. The hardware is there, but without connection it cannot function as designed.

A Light for All People

John goes on to say that this life is the light of all people.

That matters because many of us quietly assume God’s light is meant for someone else. People who are more put together. More spiritual. Less messy. But John leaves no room for that thinking. Jesus is the light for all people.

And that light is already shining in your direction.

If you have followed Jesus for a while but find yourself in a difficult season, know this. The same light that once broke into your heart is still shining today. It does not dim when you struggle.

John makes a powerful statement when he says the darkness has not overcome the light. The word “overcome” can also mean “understood.” Darkness cannot defeat the light, and it cannot comprehend it either.

Without the light of Christ, we struggle to make sense of life. That is why Scripture describes God’s Word as a lamp for our feet and a light for our path.

The Light Keeps Shining

The darkness in our world is real. Sin has brought injustice, suffering, despair, and loss. John does not deny that.

But notice the tense of the verb he uses. “The light shines.” Not shone. Not will shine. It shines. Right now. Continuously.

There are moments when it feels like the light has gone out. But it has not. Darkness is never the final word.

Wherever Jesus is welcomed, darkness loses ground.

Receiving Hope

We all face seasons when the lights go out spiritually, emotionally, or relationally.

Maybe you are not sure what you believe about God yet. But you know what darkness feels like. You are welcome here. You do not have to pretend everything is bright.

But here is the invitation. You cannot manufacture hope. You receive it in Jesus.

The apostle Paul puts it this way:

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6

Hope begins when you dare to believe that the light of Jesus is for you too.

If you are new to following Jesus and find yourself in a dark season, do not confuse darkness with God’s absence. The light that saved you is the same light that sustains you.

And for those who have walked with Jesus long enough to know that nights can stretch on, you also know that morning always comes. Be a bearer of that light for others who cannot yet see it.

As a church, let’s be the kind of place where people do not find perfection when they walk in. Let them find light. Let hope be visible long before a sermon is preached.

Because no darkness is stronger than the light of Jesus.