WEEK 2 – The Coming Light Prelude Study for Book of John

Key Truth

The light of Christ does not arrive after the night ends—it enters while it is still dark. God’s promise is not that suffering will disappear before He comes, but that His presence is stronger than any darkness you’re walking through.

Scripture Focus

Isaiah 9:1-7

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

For centuries, Israel walked in shadows. They were exiled, oppressed, silenced—waiting for God to return. They didn’t know when or how. But the prophets kept whispering: Light is coming. Not someday when everything is fixed. Not after you’ve earned it. The light comes into the darkness, meeting you exactly where you are.

Isaiah 40:1-11

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God… The voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'”

God doesn’t wait for the path to be perfect before He comes. He comes into the wilderness—the place of broken things, lost things, wandering things. And His coming transforms the terrain itself. The desert becomes a highway. The crooked places are made straight. You don’t have to clean yourself up first.

Malachi 3:1

“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple.”

After 400 years of silence, God promises to speak again. The people had given up hope. They thought God had abandoned them. But He was preparing His coming all along. In your silence, in your waiting, in your despair—God is preparing His coming too.

Luke 1:26-38

Mary’s encounter with Gabriel. An ordinary girl in an ordinary place receives an extraordinary promise. “The Lord is with you,” the angel says. Not because Mary deserves it. Not because she’s perfect or ready. But because God chooses her. And she chooses to trust.

Luke 2:25-32

Simeon has waited his whole life for God’s promise. “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation.” He recognized Jesus immediately—not because he was looking for a king, but because he knew what hope looked like after a lifetime of waiting.

John 8:12

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus doesn’t say the darkness goes away when you follow Him. He says you won’t walk in it alone. The light walks with you, through you, ahead of you.

What This Means for You

• Your darkness is not disqualifying. God’s light doesn’t wait for you to get better, sober, stronger, or more worthy. It comes for you in the mess, in the relapse, in the confusion. That’s when it matters most.
• Waiting doesn’t mean abandonment. Israel waited 400 years. You may have waited years for healing. That silence wasn’t absence—it was God preparing His coming. Your waiting is not wasted.
• Hope is not naive. Israel knew their pain. They lived it every day. But they also knew God’s promises. Healing doesn’t deny the darkness; it walks through it with company. Your hope can hold both the pain and the promise.
• You are seen and called by name. Like Mary. Like Simeon. Like the people Isaiah spoke to. You are not invisible to God. He knows your wilderness and your waiting. He comes for you personally.
• The light exposes to heal, not to shame. When Christ’s light comes into darkness, it reveals what was hidden—not to condemn you, but to heal you. In recovery, you learn to name your pain, your choices, your truth. That exposure is the beginning of freedom, not judgment.
• You can trust the light. After years of living in darkness—whether addiction, abuse, silence, or shame—trusting light feels dangerous. But Jesus says: follow me. You won’t walk alone. The light is stronger than any relapse, any failure, any day you think you can’t make it.

Discussion Questions

• What kinds of darkness have you walked through? What did that darkness feel like?
• Israel waited 400 years for God to speak. When have you waited for hope? What sustained you?
• When light breaks through after long darkness, what does that feel like? Does it ever feel scary?
• In your recovery or healing, where have you experienced God “entering the darkness” rather than waiting for things to be perfect first?
• What does it mean that the light comes while you’re still walking in darkness, not after the darkness ends?
• How does it change things to know that Christ’s light exposes wounds to heal them, not to shame you?
• Who in your life has been “light” to you when you were in a dark place?

This Week’s Practice

• Read Isaiah 9:1 each morning. Let it be your mirror. You are the people walking in darkness. The light has come for you.
• Journal one word each day: “One way I see light breaking through today…” Notice small things—a moment of peace, a connection with someone, a choice you made toward healing, grace you received.
• Sit in one dark room this week. Literally. Sit in darkness for 5-10 minutes. Notice how even a small light—a candle, a phone screen—changes everything. Let that be your prayer: Jesus, be that light for me.
• Memorize: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:2)
• Call or text one person this week who has been light to you in your darkness. Thank them. Tell them what their presence meant.

Daily Reflections

DAY 1 – DARKNESS AND LONGING

Read Isaiah 9:1-7

Imagine Israel waiting. Centuries of waiting. Foreign rulers, broken temples, silence from heaven. But in that darkness, they held onto a promise: the light is coming.

Where in your life do you feel like you’re waiting? In your recovery? In your relationships? In your faith?

Ask God: “Help me wait without losing hope. Show me signs that You’re coming, even now.”

DAY 2 – GOD IN THE WILDERNESS

Read Isaiah 40:1-11

God doesn’t meet us at the finish line. He meets us in the wilderness—where we’re lost, broken, confused.

What does your wilderness look like right now? Where do you feel most lost?

Sit with this: God is preparing a highway through your desert. Not to skip the hard parts, but to make a way through them. You’re not alone in there.

DAY 3 – AFTER THE SILENCE

Read Malachi 3:1

Four hundred years. That’s how long Israel waited after God stopped speaking. Four hundred years of silence. And then: “I will send my messenger.”

Have you experienced silence from God? A time when you didn’t hear His voice, didn’t feel His presence?

Healing often begins in silence. Sometimes God is quiet not because He’s absent, but because He’s coming. Write: “One way I’ve experienced God’s silence was…”

DAY 4 – CALLED BY NAME

Read Luke 1:26-38

Mary was nobody important. Just a young girl in a small town. But when the angel came, he didn’t say, “You’ve earned this.” He said, “The Lord is with you.”

God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called. He comes to ordinary people in ordinary places and says: You. I choose you.

Ask yourself: What would change if I truly believed God chose me—not because I’m perfect, but because I’m His?

DAY 5 – RECOGNIZING THE LIGHT

Read Luke 2:25-32

Simeon waited his whole life. He was old. He had waited so long he might have stopped looking. But when Jesus came, he knew. Something in him recognized what he’d been waiting for.

In your recovery, have you had moments where you suddenly recognized healing? Where hope showed up when you least expected it?

Write: “I recognized God’s light when…”

DAY 6 – WALKING IN LIGHT

Read John 8:12

“Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Not: the darkness goes away. Not: you’ll never struggle again.

But: you will not walk alone. The light walks with you.

In what area of your recovery do you most need to remember: I’m not walking this alone?

DAY 7 – REST IN THE PROMISE

Read all passages from this week, slowly.

This week, you’ve sat with Israel’s waiting, with God’s silence, with His sudden breaking-through. You’ve remembered that light doesn’t wait for perfection. It comes into the mess.

Today, simply rest. Let yourself feel seen by God. Let yourself trust that the light you’ve seen—in yourself, in your recovery, in God’s grace—is real and strong.

Write: “The light I’m holding onto this week is…”

A Word for You

You are not too dark for God’s light. You are not too far gone, too broken, too much of a mess. The light of Christ enters darkness—it doesn’t wait for the darkness to leave first. In your recovery, in your healing, you are learning to walk in that light. Some days it feels bright. Some days it’s just a flicker. But it’s there. And it’s stronger than you know.

Next Week: The Gift of Presence (Luke 2, Matthew 2; Incarnation and Emmanuel)