² The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
a light has dawned
on those living in the land of darkness.
³ You have enlarged the nation
and increased its joy.
The people have rejoiced before you
as they rejoice at harvest time
and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.
⁴ For you have shattered their oppressive yoke
and the rod on their shoulders,
the staff of their oppressor,
just as you did on the day of Midian.
⁵ For every trampling boot of battle
and the bloodied garments of war
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
⁶ For a child will be born for us,
a son will be given to us,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
He will be named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ The dominion will be vast,
and its prosperity will never end.
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.
Isaiah 9:2-7 CSB

Waiting to become a mom was a dark time in my life, full of medical procedures and medicines that made me emotional. Any hope was quickly deflated and my marriage was strained.

The light came when I let go of my quest to become pregnant. God met me there, prompting my surrender of my own plan and a willingness to follow Him into the unknown.

The short story is my husband and I became parents through adoption. God built my family of five in ways I didn’t expect. In the process, He also built my faith. He always brings light and joy into the darkness.

God being a Father who sacrificed His Son for us took on new meaning when I eventually became a mom. His Son Jesus was born and killed and resurrected for us. In Isaiah 9, we are reminded of what His Son is called. We certainly need a Prince of Peace to rescue us from the darkness we’ve experienced.

The word for “peace” here is shalom, which can be defined as completeness, soundness, welfare, and peace. Jesus comes to relieve the conflicts of this world, but He brings a peace that encompasses more than raising a white flag. He reconciles us to God and others and makes us whole.

Adoption was God’s plan for my family. We didn’t settle for His ways because we didn’t get ours. Instead, He led us to where He wanted us all along. He heard the desires of my heart when I cried out to become a mom and authored the story He had planned all along.

In the process of following God into motherhood, I became a different person. Yes, I became a mom, but I also saw light and joy in new ways because that’s the kind of rescue the Prince of Peace brings.

God sent His Prince of Peace Son for your darkness too. He is not a God of disorder, but a God of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33 CSB). He wants you to find joy in your everyday living — with your work, with your relationships, with your desires, and with your actions. He wants to rescue you and me from the need to control the details, from the do-it-all-ourselves attitude we insist on, and from the darkness in this broken world.

Father God, thank You for being light in the darkness and sending Your Son so we draw near to You even in our brokenness and frustration. Let us raise our white flags and surrender our wills to Your ways. Bring the Prince of Peace into our everyday lives so we can know You more and make You known to those around us. You’re the kind of rescue we need. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

This devotion was written by Kristin Hill Taylor for the (in)courage Devotional Bible.

Join us here at (in)courage each weekend leading up to Christmas as we share excerpts from the (in)courage Devotional Bible, learn more about the promises of God, and count down to Christmas together. We invite you to take a moment to observe, reflect, and respond:

OBSERVE
Who is God? What are you learning about God’s character from His promises?

REFLECT
Where is God? How is He moving during this busy season?

RESPOND
Pray, confess, and give thanks. How will today’s promise from God make your Christmas richer?