From Darkness Into Light – Isaiah 9:2 – (Part 1)

From Darkness Into Light  ( Part 1)

Pastor Calvin Cook

December 2, 2025

Isaiah 9:2 — “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light…”

This morning, I am reflecting upon Isaiah 9:2 which is one of the most referred to scriptures during the season of Advent. In today’s early morning hours, I prayed over this scripture and felt a clear message for us today. Whether we are in a good place in our relationship with God or searching for something more, this verse will speak to us if we allow it to.  

I pause at the opening words “The People Who Walked in Darkness” and ask who these are who are living in darkness that Isaiah was prophesying to.

When Isaiah first  spoke these words, he was speaking to a people living under profound spiritual, political, and emotional darkness. They had either walked away from God as individuals or as a people. They were surrounded by enemies, oppressed, struggling with sin, and far from the presence of God. Their days were filled with fear, uncertainty, and hopelessness. They were referred to as God’s people—yet they were stumbling in the shadows.

And today? It is all of us who give more credibility to the darkness than we focus on the light. The people walking in darkness look very much the same. They are the ones wrestling with sin. Its causes are anxiety, addiction, depression, broken relationships, and spiritual confusion. There are just too many voices shouting to many things when the voice we need to hear is that of God through the Holy Spirit. It is then that disconnection happens. Disconnection from church, from community, and sometimes even from God Himself. They are the ones who smile on the outside yet feel empty on the inside. They are the people searching for meaning in all the wrong places. They are us.

Darkness is not simply the absence of light—it’s the absence of clarity, of who God is and what God wants to do. It is not finding our God gifted purpose. It is not allowing the peace of Christ to invade our heart and very being.  It’s the place where we cannot see our next steps. It is the world around us… and often the world within us.

This morning, I invite you to just sit quietly in the presence of God. Shut everything off and just listen.  Confess your sins, the areas of your life where God is not first place, pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to fight off the guilt, the oppression, the woe is me attitude and leave the darkness of this world. It might just be the simple prayer – “Thy will be done” in my life, in my family, in my home, in my church, in my community.

Part 2 tomorrow on Isaiah 9:2