Christmas Starts Here — Living the Spirit of Emmanuelنموونە

When Hope Begins Again

“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

Not many people know that I studied classical music (piano) and earned several certificates from the Royal Academy of Music in London.
As a teenager I struggled with classical pieces: they felt too hard, too distant.
One autumn my professor handed me a score titled The Messiah by Handel.
At first it was a nightmare to learn and perform, but by the end of that Christmas I had fallen in love with it.
Only later did I discover something extraordinary: Handel composed The Messiah not in comfort but in chaos.
He was sick, broke, misunderstood — and yet out of that darkness came one of history’s greatest proclamations of hope.

And that’s where Isaiah 9 comes in.
When the prophet spoke those words, Israel was living through one of the darkest seasons in its history — wars, oppression, injustice, fear.
The “land of the shadow of death” wasn’t just a metaphor; it was reality.
And right there, in the middle of that, God spoke through Isaiah saying that a great light would rise.
Not a political or military light, but a light of presence.
The message was clear: even when everything seems lost, God hasn’t stopped working.

Sometimes we, too, compose our lives in the dark.
Not everything is clear; not everything turns out as we imagined.
But right there, between the wrong notes, God is still writing His melody.
Hope isn’t the absence of shadow — it’s the confidence that light will win.

That’s where Christmas truly begins.
Not in comfort, but in confusion.
Not in clarity, but in chaos.
It begins when God steps into a weary world and says, “I’m still here.”
The light didn’t wait for darkness to fade — it entered it.
And that’s what living the spirit of Emmanuel means today: learning to recognize His presence in the shadows, not only after they’ve gone.

Perhaps that’s the real message of Christmas: hope isn’t a seasonal emotion but a daily decision.
It’s choosing to believe that even today, God can bring light out of any night.

Live This Today

Isaiah 9:5 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; the government will rest upon his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Maybe today you feel surrounded by uncertainty or questions.
Remember this: God still steps into darkness.
Hope rises again not when everything clears up, but when you realize the Light has already come.