When the King Dawns in the Dark

Every morning, without fail, the sun rises. Its appearance is steady, quiet, and yet powerful. Have you ever wondered why God made the world this way why he designed such a dependable dawn? Why fill the skies each day with light, tethered to the rhythm of a rising and setting sun?

Scripture gives us the answer: all things were created through Christ and for Christ (Colossians 1:16). The morning light is not only a physical gift to nourish the earth; it is a daily parable meant to lift our eyes to the true Light of the World. Every sunrise is a sermon a reminder that the King has come, the King is coming, and the King comes even now.

Light Made for the Son

C.S. Lewis once remarked that he believed in Christianity “as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” God could have created the world without light or time as we know it, but he chose instead to gift us with a cosmos wrapped in dawns and dusks so we might grasp the deeper truth: Christ is the true dawn that gives meaning to all.

When God said, “Let there be light,” he wasn’t just commanding photons into existence. He was establishing a shadow of the Savior to come. As Isaiah prophesied, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2). The rising sun would one day give way to the Rising Son.

A King Who Broke the Night

Isaiah’s prophecy paints a picture of the world before Christ’s arrival shrouded in deep darkness. God's people had rebelled, turned from his word, and looked elsewhere for hope. They were a people without dawn. But then, light pierced the darkness. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9:6).

The Son came. Not with fanfare, but beneath stars and into a feeding trough. Yet in that small, hidden moment, heaven opened. The long-awaited King dawned.

Christ’s coming shattered our slavery, ended our war, and established the foundation for a peaceable kingdom that knows no end. His arrival brought light not only to a particular people, but to a shadowed world. And though the full day has not yet come, his advent was the start of a sunrise that has never ceased.

The Dawn Yet to Come

Advent is a season of already and not yet. We rejoice that Christ has come, and we ache for his return. The world remains dark in many places. Sin still crouches at the door. Death has been defeated, but not destroyed. Like travelers before sunrise, we strain our eyes for morning.

But we do not wait without hope. Revelation promises a day when the Lamb himself will be our everlasting light, and we will need no sun (Revelation 21:23). Isaiah declares, “Your sun shall no more go down . . . for the Lord will be your everlasting light” (Isaiah 60:20). No more night. No more fear. No more tears. When the King comes again, it will be eternal morning.

The King Still Dawns

And yet, in the meantime, he still dawns.

The Christian life is not one of simply waiting for Jesus to return it is a life illuminated by his present glory. Jesus has not left us alone in the dark. By his Spirit, through his word, and among his people, he shines even now.

Paul calls us “children of the day” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). We walk not as those with eyes closed, but with hearts awakened to the light. The King who came at Christmas is the King who comes daily to comfort, to correct, to carry us toward the dawn.

When we read Scripture, when we gather with believers, when we quiet our hearts in prayer Christ dawns anew. Each act of devotion becomes a window to watch for him. Every morning is an invitation to hope again.

Advent and the Rhythm of Light

This season, let every sunrise remind you of the true Sonrise. Let the rhythm of dawn stir in you a longing for more of Christ. Let the darkness you still feel drive you to the Light you already know.

This Advent, reflect on the names Isaiah gave to the coming Messiah: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Each title points to the radiant heart of our King the one who dawns in our darkness, the one who will bring eternal day.

So we pray: Come, Lord Jesus. Dawn again in our hearts. Shine in our homes. Rise over this weary world with healing in your wings.

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