As the rush of the holiday season begins, we can easily feel pulled in many different directions. Family relationships, financial strain, or even grief can overwhelm us. Today, Denise Hughes testifies to the Light that’s found in Christ, even amidst the realities of living in a dark world, and she encourages us to find our sanctuary in him, through every season of life. It is a grace to welcome Denise to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by: Denise J. Hughes

One of my favorite things to do at Christmastime is turn off all the main lights, sit on my couch,
and watch the string of lights twinkling on my tree.

Light.

If I were to describe the signature decoration for Christmas it would be light. Not red tinsel or green mistletoe. Not gold ornaments or silver snowflakes. But light. Everywhere. Inside and out. Piercing the darkness. Shining in the night.

“Because every light tells a story, and it’s a story every soul needs.”


Because every light tells a story, and it’s a story every soul needs.

When the year has been longer and darker than we ever could have imagined, we need light.
When the unspoken losses have painted the year with a pain that’s palpable, we need light.
When isolation and loneliness have pressed in so deep that it’s hard to breathe, we need light.

“We may not know how to tell someone that… what we really need is hope.


And when the people we love most have been taken from us, we fiercely and desperately need light.

For some of us, there is one less stocking to hang on the fireplace, one less plate to set at the table. And the ache we feel makes this time of year, with all its expectations of “Christmas cheer,” just plain hard.

For others of us, we can go through the motions, exchange the gifts, and eat the cookies, but somewhere deep inside, we need something more, and we may not know how to tell someone that, when the holiday movies end and the happy jingles fade, what we really need is hope.

As much as the Christmas season brings jolly ho-ho-hos, it’s also a season that reminds us of those losses that still feel fresh, no matter how many years have passed.

And we need light to dispel the darkness inside us and around us.

If that’s you this Christmas, I want you to know you’re not alone. Christmas can be challenging precisely because it’s a poignant reminder of all that’s been lost. Your sorrow is not imagined. Your loss is real. And I am so sorry.

“in the midst of suffocating darkness, is where the Story of Light shines the brightest.”

While sitting on my couch at night, with only the tree lighting up the room, I remember a season when a sadness settled deep within me. And I discovered the hard way that sadness is never stagnant. When left unattended, it has a way of twisting into despair, casting a shadow over everything.

But there, in the midst of suffocating darkness, is where the Story of Light shines the
brightest.

Consider the blaze of light that has pulsed throughout all of history. In the beginning, there was a vast darkness. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:1-5). Just like that. His spoken word separated the light from the darkness.

“It’s no coincidence that Jesus was born in the dark of night with a new star shining brightly overhead. The Light of the World had come.”


And God has continued to separate light from darkness ever since. When the first man and woman rebelled, darkness entered their hearts, and that darkness has been passed on to every generation. But God made a Promise that one day an eternal Light would enter the world, and this Light would overcome Darkness, once and for all (Genesis 3:15; John 1:1-5).

As the years passed, believers in the Promise looked for the Light. Then one night, a new star lit up the blackened sky, pointing to the Promise born. Wealthy men traveled from the East while poor shepherds came in from the fields. Rich and poor alike, they came to see the Promised Light — a tiny baby, entrusted to a teenage girl and a simple man (Matthew 1:24-25; 2:1-2; Luke 2:8-16).

It’s no coincidence that Jesus was born in the dark of night with a new star shining brightly overhead.

The Light of the world had come.


And now, as we prepare our hearts to celebrate Christmas with the gift of hindsight, and obviously, the world has done its level best to mix a lot of loud commercialism into what was originally the celebration of the birth of Christ. Christmas nowadays can be one of the noisiest times of the year with all its jingling bells and crowded shopping malls.

Add to this the pressure of trying to put on a happy smile, when deep inside we’re really hurting, and we’re left with a heart that’s longing for sanctuary in a loud and restless world — a world that blasts us with memes and themes that go against the grain of our souls.

I once read a meme that said: “Having a religion is fine, as long as you don’t tell other people how to live.” This meme reduced “religion” to a rulebook — a list of dos and don’ts.

Except Christianity is not a religion of dos and don’ts; it’s the Story of Light coming to drive out the darkness. And we all need the Light.

“I know it wasn’t a list of rules that saved me. It was the Light of the World who
dispelled the darkness inside me. “


Sitting in my living room, with a warm plush wrapped around me and the tree lights sparkling in front of me, I know it wasn’t a list of rules that saved me.

It was the Light of the World who dispelled the darkness inside me. His name is Jesus. I invite you to try talking to him. He’s not an imaginary, fictitious being. He’s a real person.

You can tell Him all about the darkness you’re dealing with, and you can ask Him to drive it away. He’ll do it, too. It’s what He loves to do.

I’m not saying He’ll make your life all rosy and cheery. But He will fill you with His Light, and a newfound Hope will be yours forever. And no power in hell can ever take it away from you.

This is why we celebrate Christmas and decorate with light. To know it again in our bones, in all our weary hearts — that the Light has come.

And we find sanctuary for our souls when we rest in the God of light.

Denise J. Hughes is the author of Sanctuary: Cultivating a Quiet Heart in a Noisy and Demanding World, a 31-day devotional that helps women find true peace in Christ among the busyness, noise, and pressures of life.

As an English teacher, Denise loves to teach books, where life and literature connect, but her favorite book to teach is the one Book with living words. Denise enjoys quiet days at home in North Carolina with her husband, three nearly grown kids, and two pups who are convinced they’re humans with paws.

It’s the perfect time of year to come sit with: Sanctuary: Cultivating a Quiet Heart in a Noisy and Demanding World,

{ Our humble thanks to The Good Book for their partnership in today’s devotion}