Luke 1:78 79 “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

These are the last two verses in a passage called Zechariah’s prophecy.  This man had a lot of time to contemplate what the Lord was doing and saying to him and to all his people during his time of being struck dumb.  Are these some of the things he discovered during that time?  Where these things revealed to him during his season of quiet?  Verse 67 says he was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke these words.  I love the vision of gentle love being poured out over God’s people.  He has sought our love since the beginning and now His plan to break through to us is coming into being.  He is giving us a part of Him to gaze upon, to live with on earth, to physically watch and learn from.   As I watch the break of dawn on the east horizon this morning I am struck with the tenderness of the light.  It starts slowly by lessening the darkness in the sky bit by bit until it cannot be contained any longer and the break of the sun beams over the edge of the earth, light become a bright beacon to us all.  It dispels the darkness and allows us to see clearly the path before us.  Jesus is this tender blessed light to our souls.

Lord,

Thank you for your Light, thank you for sending Jesus.  Thank you for John who paved the way and thank you for your words given through Zechariah.  I pray these verses will fill our days with hope and a peace that comes from You alone. Amen.