December 21st welcomed the 2025 winter solstice which marks the official start of astronomical winter. It’s both the shortest day and longest night of the year. The winter solstice also coincides with the ending of Hanukkah symbolizing light that triumphs darkness giving us hope and renewal even in the midst of our darkest moments.
In my last post I wrote about my family’s Eureka springs trip and the message of the cross. I didn’t think about it until after our trip to Eureka but in the Merriam Webster dictionary, Eureka expresses “triumph upon a discovery.” The adjective form means “marked by usually sudden triumphant discovery” and this is what I experienced in Eureka Springs.
In the midst of my inner turmoil dealing with grief from the death of my mother, God had preplanned a divine appointment that would bring further revelation of his manifold wisdom.
My family had a divine appointment at the cross display at the Holy Land with two of the volunteers who worked there. God’s presence was felt in the midst of us. God’s light always triumphs over darkness and promises comfort and revelation of his love and wisdom and this moment at the cross was no different.
“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.” Malachi 4:2
I love this verse, and I incorporated it on the cross picture I designed, with a sun and its rays shining behind the cross. It reminds me that God’s light will always meet us in the darkness bringing warmth, renewal, hope, and illumination.
Light in the bible with its illuminative imagery and language symbolizes God as the source of all truth and righteousness, healing, warmth and peace who leads us in the path of righteousness.
Nature speaks and testifies of her creator.
Just as Malachi speaks of God’s promise of light in the midst of darkness, he designed the winter solstice to reveal this truth as the physical always points to the spiritual as a means of testimony of our creator for our spiritual education.
Darkness prepares our hearts for gospel seeds.
It’s in the dark moments of life that the Holy Spirit can most effectively prepare us to receive powerful and impactful healing illumination from God just as it was under the circumstances of my mother’s death and our Eureka springs trip that the cross encounter was able to most profoundly minister to me on a whole other level giving me more manifold understanding of the cross.
Malachi speaks of fearing God’s name which means his character and this fear isn’t a sense of dread or horror but holy reverence that’s motivated and inspired by God’s holy character of love and truth. This type of fear motivates one to draw near vs back away in terror. The gospel is the ministry of reconciliation that binds man’s heart to God.
Isaia 45:3 echoes Malachi 4:2
“And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.” Isaiah 45:3
Isaiah 45:3 speaks of treasure hidden in the darkness which expresses that God has treasures hidden and obscured from human reasoning and Isaiah 55:8 expounds upon this truth “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” Isaiah 55:8
God tends to work in such ways that often surpass our comprehension and expectations doing things in such unexpected ways and through unexpected people to where it’s clearly evident that he was in the details.
God continually astounds me with the mysteries of his riches and wisdom and how he decides to bring to pass his purposes. This makes life a joyful mystery that I love to watch unfold!
I also incorporated Isaiah 33:6 into my cross picture and then Jeremiah 9:23-24 which is the full radiance of the glory of this theme.
“The Lord is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.” Isaiah 33:6
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. / But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:23-24
Exiled to live in a world of both light and dark
Adam and Eve and all of humanity were exiled to live in a world that has both light and dark to learn the importance of trusting God’s love and wisdom. Sometimes things can only be fully understood on a heart and experiential level with personal experience which leads to clearer vision. The exile was God’s wisdom to remedy our lack of trust in him which will eternally secure the universe from another fall when sin and death are eternally removed from the universe.
“O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways! “Romans 11:33
Satan lied to humanity about God’s character at the tree of knowledge of good and evil, insinuating that God was withholding from them that which would bring them true wisdom and spiritual wealth which brought about distrust between man and God.
God gave them everything but the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. You can read more about this here. To remedy this distrust, humanity had to experience for themselves the truth so that after experiencing the darkness Satan offered they would have discernment to see truth clearly.
The creator alone knows what truly satisfies the human heart and that’s him and everything else that he created for our wellbeing.
“Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” Psalms 37:3-4
Jesus who is the light, glory and righteousness of God the father is what the tree of life, and Hanukkah/Chanukah and the Menorah symbolize.
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:5
“Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
Jesus was the wisdom of God to shine light into the world driving out darkness revealing the father’s heart and his manifold wisdom of the plan of salvation to bring man back to the father’s heart. In John 14:6, Jesus said that no man comes to the father but by him. God’s glory is hidden from those who love darkness as both protection and natural consequence of loving darkness.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” John 14:6-7
How wonderful will it be on the earth made new after all darkness is no more and we live in perpetual light of the radiance and warmth of God’s love and truth!
“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” Revelation 21:23
“And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 22:5