“God has blocked my way so I cannot move. He has plunged my path into darkness.”
Job 19:8 (NLT)
Then the Lord spoke to me again and said, “My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it. They are rejoicing over what will happen to King Rezin and King Pekah. Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River —the king of Assyria and all his glory. This flood will overflow all its channels and sweep into Judah until it is chin deep."
Isaiah 8:5-8 (NLT)
Make the LORD of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.
Isaiah 8:13 (NLT)
“Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.”
Isaiah 8:21-22 (ESV)
"Then they will look toward the earth..."
Isaiah 8:22 (ESV)
"... but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness."
Isaiah 8:22 (ESV)
Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine."
Isaiah 9:1-2 (NLT)
"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it."
John 1:1-5 (NLT)
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
John 8:12 (NLT)
“The emphasis on light in darkness comes from the Christian belief that the world’s hope comes from outside of it. Christmas contains many spiritual truths, but it will be hard to grasp the others unless we grasp this one first. That is, that the world is a dark place, and we will never find our way unless Jesus is our Light.”
Timothy Keller – Hidden Christmas
