When Christmas Feels Dark, Follow the Light - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - December 10, 2025

Carbonatix Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Carbonatix

ibelieve truth banner

My favorite Christmas tradition with my family is that several times a season, we load up in the car with hot chocolates or hot apple cider, blankets, the dog, and—usually while blaring Mariah Carey’s (in?) famous Christmas song—drive around and look at lights all over town. 

I think we’d all agree that one of the most magical parts of Christmas time is the abundance of light in general. There’s something so beautiful about driving down a darkened street and seeing rooflines lit with shiny, neatly arranged orbs…Christmas trees glowing in windows, brightly colored bulbs draped across branches laden with ornaments…. It’s lovely. It speaks to us. It creates calm. 

Why is that? 

Let’s consider the opposite of light. Have you ever been afraid of the dark? It’s an awful feeling. Maybe one of the most appalling feelings we can ever experience. Squinting into shadows, fear grasps your throat in a chokehold as your mind runs ragged with all the potential danger lurking just out of sight. The darkness can easily turn ordinary things, such as dressers and coat racks, into monsters. No wonder children struggle with this at bedtime. I even know a few adults who sleep with nightlights! It’s a real thing. 

Physical darkness would be bad enough, but that’s not all we have to contend with. There’s also the abstract darkness we experience emotionally and mentally in various shapes. Grief is a form of darkness. So is rejection. Abandonment. Hopelessness. Fear. Anxiety. Depression. 

I think that’s why we’re naturally drawn to light. It does many things—it casts out darkness. It provides hope. It gives warmth. It reveals what was hidden. It divulges truth. It gives us sight. 

The same list could be said about Jesus. 

John 1:4-5 (ESV) In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

What a comforting truth. Jesus is our light. And this Christmas, like every other Christmas past and every other Christmas still to come, He has already defeated the darkness. Which means that whatever you’re going through this year, He’s there. He’s got the light turned on for you. For your family. For your broken heart, for your prodigal, for your sick parent, or your struggling marriage. We don’t have to fear the darkness anymore. 

This holiday season, it’s not just about the surface-level, feel-good lights on yard decorations and snow-dusted rooftops. It’s about the heart-deep, healing Light that infiltrated the world to shine into our darkest corners. To reveal sin. To provide reconciliation. To redeem and restore. To beckon us come ever closer because He first came to us. Emmanuel—God with us. 

He’s here. And that light can be yours. 

John 8:12 (ESV) Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

Because of God wrapping Himself in flesh and being born of a virgin, because of His being at once fully God and fully man, remaining sinless throughout His time on earth and dying on the cross to rise again three days later in a beautiful exchange…because of these glorious Gospel truths, we can have that very light in us, all the time.

Matthew 5:14-15 (ESV) “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.”

I’ve been signing my Christmas cards this year with this simple line: May the light of Emmanuel brighten your holiday season. It’s not just a trite wish or a statement; it’s a heartfelt prayer. It’s what we all want, deep down, this time of year, what we all desire way more than the latest technology or a gift card or a piece of jewelry. 

We crave the light of His presence. 

This season, as you drive around town and admire all the lovely Christmas lights, let them serve as a reminder that the darkness has been overcome. That He came. He’s here. And He’s coming again. Let that comforting truth well deep in your heart and spill out of you in glorious abundance. 

This Christmas, it’s time to shine.

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/AleksandarNakic

Related Resource: I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life | Midweek Prayer (John 14:1–6)

When our hearts feel troubled, Jesus invites us to trust Him again.

This short midweek prayer creates space to pause, breathe deeply, and return to Jesus’s words in John 14:1–6, where He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” In this guided prayer, we acknowledge the places where worry, uncertainty, or longing have unsettled our hearts and bring them honestly before God.

Jesus reminds us that we are not alone—that He is with us, that He is preparing a place for us, and that He will return for us. As we pray, we ask for help to trust Him more deeply and to follow Him in the way He has already made clear: to love God fully and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Take a few quiet minutes to slow down, listen for God’s invitation, and rest in the presence of the One who leads us in truth and life. If you like what you hear, follow So Much More on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!

 

Salem News Channel Today

Sponsored Links


September 26 - Phoenix, AZ
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts


November 2 - Detroit, MI
Zion Christian Church in Troy


October 6 - Los Angeles, CA
Pasadena Convention Center


November 5 - San Antonio, TX
Norris Centers – The Grand Red Oak Ballroom


October 8 - Sacramento, CA
William Jessup University


November 7 - Tampa, FL
The Palladium at St. Pete College


October 22 - Minneapolis, MN
Crowne Plaza AiRE


November 15 - San Francisco, CA
Fremont Marriott Silicon Valley


October 23 - Philadelphia, PA
Green Valley Country Club


November 16 - Denver, CO
CU South Denver - Formerly Wildlife Experience


November 2 - Chicago, IL
Chicago Westin Northwest in Itasca


November 21 - Cleveland, OH
Holiday Inn Rockside in Independence



Salem Radio Network Speakers

Larry Elder is an American lawyer, writer, and radio and television personality who calls himself the "Sage of South Central" a district of Los Angeles, Larry says his philosophy is to entertain, inform, provoke and to hopefully uplift. His calling card is "we have a country to save" and to him this means returning to the bedrock Constitutional principles of limited government and maximum personal responsibility. Elder's iconoclastic wit and intellectual agility makes him a particularly attractive voice in a nation that seems weary of traditional racial dialogue.” – Los Angeles Times.

Mike Gallagher Mike Gallagher began his broadcasting career in 1978 in Dayton, Ohio. Today, he is one of the most listened-to talk radio show hosts in America, recently having been ranked in the Talkers Magazine “Heavy Hundred” list – the 100 most important talk radio hosts in America. Prior to being launched into national syndication in 1998, Mike hosted the morning show on WABC-AM in New York City. Today, Talkers Magazine reports that his show is heard by over 3.75 million weekly listeners. Besides his radio work, Mike is seen on Fox News Channel as an on-air contributor, frequently appearing on the cable news giant.

Hugh Hewitt is one of the nation’s leading bloggers and a genuine media revolutionary. He brings that expertise, his wit and what The New Yorker magazine calls his “amiable but relentless manner” to his nationally syndicated show each day.

When Dr. Sebastian Gorka was growing up, he listened to talk radio under his pillow with a transistor radio, dreaming that one day he would be behind the microphone. Beginning New Year’s Day 2019, he got his wish. Gorka now hosts America First every weekday afternoon 3 to 6pm ET. Gorka’s unique story works well on the radio. He is national security analyst for the Fox News Channel and author of two books: "Why We Fight" and "Defeating Jihad." His latest book releasing this fall is “War For America’s Soul.” He is uniquely qualified to fight the culture war and stand up for what is great about America, his adopted home country.

Broadcasting from his home station of KRLA in Los Angeles, the Dennis Prager Show is heard across the country. Everything in life – from politics to religion to relationships – is grist for Dennis’ mill. If it’s interesting, if it affects your life, then Dennis will be talking about it – with passion, humor, insight and wisdom.

Sean Hannity is a conservative radio and television host, and one of the original primetime hosts on the Fox News Channel, where he has appeared since 1996. Sean Hannity began his radio career at a college station in California, before moving on to markets in the Southeast and New York. Today, he’s one of the most listened to on-air voices. Hannity’s radio program went into national syndication on September 10, 2001, and airs on more than 500 stations. Talkers Magazine estimates Hannity’s weekly radio audience at 13.5 million. In 1996 he was hired as one of the original hosts on Fox News Channel. As host of several popular Fox programs, Hannity has become the highest-paid news anchor on television.

Michelle Malkin is a mother, wife, blogger, conservative syndicated columnist, longtime cable TV news commentator, and best-selling author of six books. She started her newspaper journalism career at the Los Angeles Daily News in 1992, moved to the Seattle Times in 1995, and has been penning nationally syndicated newspaper columns for Creators Syndicate since 1999. She is founder of conservative Internet start-ups Hot Air and Twitchy.com. Malkin has received numerous awards for her investigative journalism, including the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) national award for outstanding service for the cause of governmental ethics and leadership (1998), the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award for Investigative Journalism (2006), the Heritage Foundation and Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity's Breitbart Award for Excellence in Journalism (2013), the Center for Immigration Studies' Eugene Katz Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Immigration Award (2016), and the Manhattan Film Festival's Film Heals Award (2018). Married for 26 years and the mother of two teenage children, she lives with her family in Colorado. Follow her at michellemalkin.com. (Photo reprinted with kind permission from Peter Duke Photography.)

Sponsored by:

When Christmas Feels Dark, Follow the Light - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - December 10, 2025

Carbonatix Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Carbonatix

ibelieve truth banner

My favorite Christmas tradition with my family is that several times a season, we load up in the car with hot chocolates or hot apple cider, blankets, the dog, and—usually while blaring Mariah Carey’s (in?) famous Christmas song—drive around and look at lights all over town. 

I think we’d all agree that one of the most magical parts of Christmas time is the abundance of light in general. There’s something so beautiful about driving down a darkened street and seeing rooflines lit with shiny, neatly arranged orbs…Christmas trees glowing in windows, brightly colored bulbs draped across branches laden with ornaments…. It’s lovely. It speaks to us. It creates calm. 

Why is that? 

Let’s consider the opposite of light. Have you ever been afraid of the dark? It’s an awful feeling. Maybe one of the most appalling feelings we can ever experience. Squinting into shadows, fear grasps your throat in a chokehold as your mind runs ragged with all the potential danger lurking just out of sight. The darkness can easily turn ordinary things, such as dressers and coat racks, into monsters. No wonder children struggle with this at bedtime. I even know a few adults who sleep with nightlights! It’s a real thing. 

Physical darkness would be bad enough, but that’s not all we have to contend with. There’s also the abstract darkness we experience emotionally and mentally in various shapes. Grief is a form of darkness. So is rejection. Abandonment. Hopelessness. Fear. Anxiety. Depression. 

I think that’s why we’re naturally drawn to light. It does many things—it casts out darkness. It provides hope. It gives warmth. It reveals what was hidden. It divulges truth. It gives us sight. 

The same list could be said about Jesus. 

John 1:4-5 (ESV) In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

What a comforting truth. Jesus is our light. And this Christmas, like every other Christmas past and every other Christmas still to come, He has already defeated the darkness. Which means that whatever you’re going through this year, He’s there. He’s got the light turned on for you. For your family. For your broken heart, for your prodigal, for your sick parent, or your struggling marriage. We don’t have to fear the darkness anymore. 

This holiday season, it’s not just about the surface-level, feel-good lights on yard decorations and snow-dusted rooftops. It’s about the heart-deep, healing Light that infiltrated the world to shine into our darkest corners. To reveal sin. To provide reconciliation. To redeem and restore. To beckon us come ever closer because He first came to us. Emmanuel—God with us. 

He’s here. And that light can be yours. 

John 8:12 (ESV) Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

Because of God wrapping Himself in flesh and being born of a virgin, because of His being at once fully God and fully man, remaining sinless throughout His time on earth and dying on the cross to rise again three days later in a beautiful exchange…because of these glorious Gospel truths, we can have that very light in us, all the time.

Matthew 5:14-15 (ESV) “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.”

I’ve been signing my Christmas cards this year with this simple line: May the light of Emmanuel brighten your holiday season. It’s not just a trite wish or a statement; it’s a heartfelt prayer. It’s what we all want, deep down, this time of year, what we all desire way more than the latest technology or a gift card or a piece of jewelry. 

We crave the light of His presence. 

This season, as you drive around town and admire all the lovely Christmas lights, let them serve as a reminder that the darkness has been overcome. That He came. He’s here. And He’s coming again. Let that comforting truth well deep in your heart and spill out of you in glorious abundance. 

This Christmas, it’s time to shine.

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/AleksandarNakic

Related Resource: I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life | Midweek Prayer (John 14:1–6)

When our hearts feel troubled, Jesus invites us to trust Him again.

This short midweek prayer creates space to pause, breathe deeply, and return to Jesus’s words in John 14:1–6, where He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” In this guided prayer, we acknowledge the places where worry, uncertainty, or longing have unsettled our hearts and bring them honestly before God.

Jesus reminds us that we are not alone—that He is with us, that He is preparing a place for us, and that He will return for us. As we pray, we ask for help to trust Him more deeply and to follow Him in the way He has already made clear: to love God fully and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Take a few quiet minutes to slow down, listen for God’s invitation, and rest in the presence of the One who leads us in truth and life. If you like what you hear, follow So Much More on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!

 

Salem News Channel Today

Sponsored Links

On Air & Up Next

See the Full Program Guide