{"id":14530,"date":"2026-09-11T08:18:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T12:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/?post_type=oyb&#038;p=14530"},"modified":"2026-09-11T08:18:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T12:18:08","slug":"have-you-seen-the-light-2","status":"publish","type":"oyb","link":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/oyb\/have-you-seen-the-light-2","title":{"rendered":"HAVE YOU SEEN THE LIGHT?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone\u201d (Isaiah 9:2 ESV).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Isaiah had just described Israel\u2019s condition with the words \u201cdistress and darkness, the gloom of anguish\u201d (Isaiah 8:22). The northern territories of Zebulun and Naphtali had been among the first to suffer beneath Assyrian invasion. Yet Isaiah announced a stunning reversal. The land that had first experienced the darkness of judgment would become the land where the great light first dawned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Isaiah spoke to a people surrounded by darkness, yet he described the coming light as though it had already appeared: \u201chave seen a great light.\u201d This is sometimes called the prophetic perfect. God\u2019s promise was so certain that Isaiah could describe a future event in the past tense. What God promises is as good as done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Centuries later, Matthew quoted this very passage when Jesus began His ministry in Galilee near Capernaum (Matthew 4:13-17). The geography Isaiah had named became the geography where Jesus proclaimed, \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d Matthew made clear where Isaiah\u2019s prophecy ultimately pointed. Jesus is the great Light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The progression is beautiful: darkness in Isaiah 8:22, light in Isaiah 9:2, and then the Child in Isaiah 9:6. God\u2019s answer to the darkness was His Son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We live in a world still darkened by sin, sorrow, fear, and death. We cannot manufacture enough light within ourselves to overcome that darkness. But the gospel does not tell us to find our own way out. God has caused His Light to shine upon us in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Christ opens our eyes, we see our sin clearly, but we also see the Savior who bore it for us. We see the King whose kingdom has come near and whose reign will one day fill the earth. Hank Williams captured something of this gospel joy in his song, \u201cI Saw the Light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the question is personal: Have we merely heard about the Light, or have we turned from darkness and trusted the One who is the Light? Have you seen the Light?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>PRAYER<\/strong>: Dear Father, we thank You for shining the light of Christ into our darkness. Open our eyes to see Jesus more clearly, trust Him more fully, and walk in His light today. May His light shine through us so others may see Him too. In Jesus\u2019 name, amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThe people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone\u201d (Isaiah 9:2 ESV). Isaiah had just described Israel\u2019s condition with the words \u201cdistress and darkness, the gloom of anguish\u201d (Isaiah 8:22). The northern territories of Zebulun and Naphtali had been [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"audio":"https:\/\/garycombsorg.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Sep-11-2026-at-8_11_51AM-esv2-50p-bg-10p-music-10p.mp3"},"categories":[],"tags":[],"scripture-book":[1290],"scripture-chapter":[1342],"oyb_day":[1781],"class_list":["post-14530","oyb","type-oyb","status-publish","hentry","scripture-book-isaiah","scripture-chapter-1342","oyb_day-september-11"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb\/14530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/oyb"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14530"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-book?post=14530"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-chapter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-chapter?post=14530"},{"taxonomy":"oyb_day","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb_day?post=14530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}