Waiting for the Light: The Dawn We Didn’t Expect

This devotional expands on Day 1 “Waiting for the Light” of the free 7-Day guide “Journey through Hope”, offering deeper insight into Isaiah’s prophecy and what it means to wait for the light Christ brings.

The Weight of Darkness

Isaiah lays out Israel’s burden and pain with unflinching honesty. The people he addressed were living in profound darkness—not merely political oppression or economic hardship, but a spiritual darkness that touched everything. They had been beaten down by conquering armies, enslaved by foreign powers, and mocked for their belief in one God, which seemed ludicrous to a polytheistic world that worshiped multiple deities. Their monotheism made them strange, their devotion made them targets, and their hope in God’s promises made them appear foolish to watching nations.

Yet even while often straying from God themselves, they still yearned for His coming. They were waiting for the light—looking desperately for the promised Messiah who would end their suffering and restore their glory. Living in a land full of darkness of heart that led to death (Psalm 130:5-6), they clung to Isaiah’s promise: a Light was coming and would shine upon them.

Isaiah 9:6-7 reveals the specific hope the people of God held for the future: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” A child would be born who would lead them from captivity, rule in wisdom and might, and bring everlasting peace. This was the light they were waiting for—a conquering king, a political deliverer, a military messiah.

The Misunderstood Deliverance

But here’s what they didn’t understand, what they couldn’t have anticipated: Immanuel’s method of freeing them from their captivity was not what they expected. God wasn’t primarily concerned with their external circumstances—the Roman occupation, the political oppression, the economic struggles. He was targeting something far deeper, far more deadly. The true captivity holding them wasn’t the chains placed by foreign powers but the chains forged by their own sin (Isaiah 40:31).

This is the tension at the heart of waiting for the light. We think we know what we need. Israel thought they needed political freedom, military victory, national restoration. We think we need changed circumstances, answered prayers according to our specifications, relief from our current struggles. But God sees what actually enslaves us—the internal darkness that no external deliverance can touch.

They weren’t simply waiting for a new dawn of change in their earthly lives. God was preparing to bring a new light, a new dawn in their very hearts. The Son of Man came to remove all internal darkness and replace it with His glorious light and righteousness (John 1:4-5). One glorious candle to light not just Israel, but the entire world.

What We’re Really Waiting For

This changes everything about how we understand Christ’s coming and what it means to be waiting for the light. The season invites us to remember that the first coming of Christ surprised everyone precisely because God’s deliverance operates at a level deeper than we can imagine. Jesus didn’t come to make comfortable lives more comfortable or to solve merely earthly problems. He came to free people who didn’t even realize they were captive.

The darkness Isaiah describes isn’t primarily political or social—it’s spiritual. It’s the darkness of hearts separated from God, living under the shadow of death, unable to save themselves no matter how hard they try. This is the darkness that leads to true death, not just physical expiration but eternal separation from the source of life and light.

When we’re waiting for the light this season, are we waiting for circumstances to change, or are we waiting for hearts to be transformed? Are we looking for external deliverance from uncomfortable situations, or are we recognizing our need for internal deliverance from the sin that truly enslaves us?

The Light That Actually Came

The beauty of Isaiah’s prophecy is that the light did come. Past tense: “upon them a light has shined.” This isn’t future hope or distant promise—it’s accomplished reality. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, light broke into our darkness. But it wasn’t the light of military conquest or political revolution. It was the light of a baby in a manger who would grow into a man on a cross, freeing humanity from the one thing that truly held them captive: their sin (Isaiah 55:8-9).

This is why the cross and the manger are inseparable. The child born to lead us from captivity did exactly that—but the captivity He addressed was far more profound than anyone anticipated. He freed us not from Roman occupation but from sin’s dominion. Not from earthly oppression but from eternal death. Not from temporary discomfort but from permanent separation from God.

The light came down not to make our earthly lives easier but to make our eternal lives possible. Immanuel—God with us—entered our darkness not to eliminate all suffering but to ensure that suffering is not the final word. He came to replace internal darkness with His glorious light and righteousness, transforming us from the inside out.

Still Waiting, Still Watching

We stand in a unique position in salvation history. The light has come—Jesus was born, lived, died, and rose again. The victory is won. Yet we’re still waiting for the light in another sense—waiting for His return, for the final banishment of all darkness, for the complete fulfillment of every promise. We live in the “already but not yet.”

This season, as we light candles and sing carols and prepare our hearts, let’s remember what we’re actually celebrating. Not the fulfillment of our own expectations, but God’s unexpected, profound, world-changing answer to our deepest need. Not external deliverance that leaves our hearts unchanged, but internal transformation that changes everything.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. Not the light they expected. But the light they desperately needed. The light that saves not by removing every earthly hardship but by removing the eternal darkness that threatened to consume them forever. One glorious candle—the Light of the World—illuminating not just circumstances but hearts, not just nations but souls, not just time but eternity.

Reflection Questions

1. What external circumstances are you waiting for God to change this Christmas season? How might He be more concerned with internal transformation in your heart?
2. In what ways have your expectations of how God should work kept you from seeing how He is actually working in your life?
3. How does understanding that Jesus came primarily to free you from sin’s captivity (not just earthly troubles) change your perspective on current struggles?
4. Where do you need to let go of your vision of deliverance and trust God’s deeper, more profound plan for your freedom?

Prayer

Consider the difference between the external deliverance you may be hoping for and the internal transformation God wants to accomplish. Ask Him to help you see and desire the light He’s actually offering—not just changed circumstances, but a changed heart.

If you’d like to keep reflecting throughout the week, you can download my 7-day devotional and read it at your own pace.