The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
Isaiah 9:2

As a boy, I took a school field trip to Hannibal, Missouri, the home of Samuel Clemens, who is best known by his pseudonym, Mark Twain. Our trip to Hannibal included a visit to Mark Twain Cave. Anyone who has read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer knows about the cave which, in the book, Twain called “McDougall’s Cave.”

There was a moment in the tour I’ve never forgotten. We were deep inside the cave. All of us school children stood still and quiet. The tour guide had all the lights turned off. For about 15 seconds, we stood in pitch-black darkness. I put my hand just inches from my face. I could see nothing.

That’s the problem with darkness. You can’t see what’s right in front of you. It’s disorienting. Frightening. In fact, in experiments where people have been subjected to extended periods of total darkness, it doesn’t take long before they begin to experience psychological terror and extreme confusion.

The prophet Isaiah called God’s people “the people who walked in darkness.” He was describing their spiritual condition. Although the evidence of God’s grace and presence and love was all around them, they were blind to it. They couldn’t see it.

Christmas is about God sending the Light of the World to live among people who walked in darkness. But even as all creation shouts to us about the reality and glory of God, He still has to open our blind eyes before we can see the Light.

Prayer: God, give me spiritual eyes to see You at work all around me during this Christmas season. Help me to see and to walk in the light of Your love (1 John 1:7).