\u201cIt\u2019s always darkest before dawn.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be honest, this saying has always bugged me. I\u2019m not trying to be difficult or a know-it-all, but it\u2019s just not scientifically true. Step outside on any given night, and you\u2019ll find that darkness throughout the night changes depending on cloud movement or the moon. In the winter months can be affected if something like snow is reflecting the light. So why do we use this not-exactly-true saying to comfort one another? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I suppose the breathtaking break of the morning sun across the horizon does make everything in the hours before seem much darker. So maybe that\u2019s why? Or maybe it just feels really good and hopeful? But what I\u2019ve learned is that the almost-true things are never nearly as comforting as the absolutely-true things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I learned that this year\u2019s Advent reading plan was titled The Dawn of Redeeming Grace, my soul gave a sigh of relief at the thought. I imagine the world did seem darker than ever before that dawn\u2014the birth of the Messiah. It probably seemed like hope, peace, joy, and love were growing dimmer by the day. But the truer truth is this: God was always at work. His promises to the prophets, priests, kings, and everyday people were still true, even though they couldn\u2019t see the Light waiting to be revealed at the perfect time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of all of the things I love about our Advent journey this year, what I hope you connect with deeply is the Old Testament scriptures and the eager anticipation of knowing that the Light has, in fact, dawned. As for this Christmas season, when things may seem dark and we need to be reminded of why we have peace and hope and joy, why we love and rejoice in the good news, let us read God\u2019s promises together, anchored by the joy of celebrating the coming dawn. Even though we can\u2019t see Him, we know He is at work. \u201cLook, I am coming soon!\u201d (Revelation 22:7). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Friends, don\u2019t miss this Advent season. I want to personally invite you to make time to open these Advent scriptures every single day. Let God\u2019s Word be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Psalm 119:105). This way, whether things seem dark now or even when they inevitably will, you will know that the Light, who came into the world at the first advent, will most certainly return once and for all. Together, let\u2019s let our souls sigh with sweet relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Written by Raechel Myers<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cIt\u2019s always darkest before dawn.\u201d To be honest, this saying has always bugged me. I\u2019m not trying to be difficult or a know-it-all, but it\u2019s just not scientifically true. Step outside on any given night, and you\u2019ll find that darkness throughout the night changes depending on cloud movement or the moon. In the winter months […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":71560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[292],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advent2024"],"acf":{"hero_background_image":false,"related_plans":[71574],"weekly_truth":false,"grace_day":false,"share_text":"#SheReadsTruth","devotional_text":"THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT: HOPE<\/b> \u201cIt\u2019s always darkest before dawn.\u201d<\/p> To be honest, this saying has always bugged me. I\u2019m not trying to be difficult or a know-it-all, but it\u2019s just not scientifically true. Step outside on any given night, and you\u2019ll find that darkness throughout the night changes depending on cloud movement or the moon. In the winter months can be affected if something like snow is reflecting the light. So why do we use this not-exactly-true saying to comfort one another?<\/p> I suppose the breathtaking break of the morning sun across the horizon does make everything in the hours before seem much darker. So maybe that\u2019s why? Or maybe it just feels really good and hopeful? But what I\u2019ve learned is that the almost-true things are never nearly as comforting as the absolutely-true things.<\/p> When I learned that this year\u2019s Advent reading plan was titled The Dawn of Redeeming Grace<\/i>, my soul gave a sigh of relief at the thought. I imagine the world did seem darker than ever before that dawn\u2014the birth of the Messiah. It probably seemed like hope, peace, joy, and love were growing dimmer by the day. But the truer truth is this: God was always at work. His promises to the prophets, priests, kings, and everyday people were still true, even though they couldn\u2019t see the Light waiting to be revealed at the perfect time.<\/p> Of all of the things I love about our Advent journey this year, what I hope you connect with deeply is the Old Testament scriptures and the eager anticipation of knowing that the Light has, in fact, dawned. As for this Christmas season, when things may seem dark and we need to be reminded of why we have peace and hope and joy, why we love and rejoice in the good news, let us read God\u2019s promises together, anchored by the joy of celebrating the coming dawn. Even though we can\u2019t see Him, we know He is at work. \u201cLook, I am coming soon!\u201d (Revelation 22:7).<\/p> Friends, don\u2019t miss this Advent season. I want to personally invite you to make time to open these Advent scriptures every single day. Let God\u2019s Word be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Psalm 119:105). This way, whether things seem dark now or even when they inevitably will, you will know that the Light, who came into the world at the first advent, will most certainly return once and for all. Together, let\u2019s let our souls sigh with sweet relief.<\/p>","share_image_height":"640","day_number":"1","scripture":"Psalm 65:5","available":true,"ad_banner_name":"","ad_banner_image":false,"ad_banner_url":"","songs":"","key_verse":"","key_verse_reference":"","background_image":false,"background_color":"#FBF7F3","scripture_references":false,"share_image":false,"author_name":"","author_bio":"","guest_social_media":false,"show_ad":true,"ad_override":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\r\nby Raechel Myers<\/i>
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n