Bible Studies

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The Scriptures
Isaiah 9:1-4 - From the Gloom of Night
Key Verses: (NRSV)

• 1: "But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish…" - Anguish - yes, but gloom and hopelessness - no.
  
  
• 2: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined." - Isaiah begins his poem focused on the darkness that all people face at different times in their lives. When hopelessness prevails and when pain, suffering, and despair have their way, a great light will shine and reveal the glory of God.
  
  
• 4: "For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian." - Victory over the oppression we face in our lives is assured.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• How is the anguish of the world affecting you? In the state of chaos in which we find ourselves, with the wars that have spread to the corners of the world, with the unfathomable death toll due to the tsunami, and with countless other examples of personal pain and suffering affecting people's lives, has it caused you to seek God's light? Do you see the difference between the experience of pain and anguish versus feelings of darkness, gloom, and hopelessness? Even in the midst of humanity's greatest disaster can you see the Light of hope that is emanating from God? Is it possible that "every occurrence(sic) of human suffering opens wide a wound through which the grace of God may pour?"¹
  
  
• Are you walking in darkness? Does it feel that wherever you turn, the challenges of life are holding you down? As you move through your days, are you constantly striving to keep the darkness of depression or pain at bay? Have you found the Light? Do you feel its warm glow? Are you drawn towards it? Do you see that God has created you to be a child of the Light? Do you realize that because of this whenever you feel lost in the darkness He will be there to guide you back into the light?
  
  
• Has the yoke of your burden been lifted? In the verses just prior to this passage, Isaiah foretells of the invasion of the Assyrians in which Israel will be completely destroyed. And then, in the very next breath, he speaks of the promise that God will lift their burdens and remove their oppressors. How has God lifted your burdens and removed the oppressors in your life? Did it follow a time when everything seemed to press in on you? Was your faith challenged? Did you stray or have doubts in God? As you were rescued did you experience a new understanding of God and were you suddenly reawakened of His love for you?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

The world is a harsh place in which to live. Giant storms, completely beyond human control, can race into our lives and destroy everything we hold dear. These storms, either from nature or man, create more pain and suffering than we were meant to endure. They cause us to wonder where God is in the midst of the destruction. They challenge our ability to persevere and to survive. They attack our hope. But in the heart of these storms with our wounds open wide and our faith challenged to the limit, God sends His light. Mercy and grace pours in like a tsunami, unleashed and uncontrolled. When we thought God had deserted us we suddenly see that He is everywhere we look. Emissaries of His light stream to the rescue. Songs of joy can be heard and the dawning of a new day begins. We will experience anguish but never the gloom of hopelessness and despair. This is the promise of God.

¹"Salvifici Doloris" by Pope John Paul II.

FUMC Devotionals

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