The essence of the Chanukah light is so lofty and removed from this world that we aren’t yet worthy of it – we can only admire it from a distance. But the fact that this light can descend into our lowly world, in the middle of the workweek and into our very own homes, is simply miraculous. God is sending us a message:
Even though we may feel far away from Him and we may not yet be worthy of His light, He is nevertheless shining down to us.

The main mitzvah of lighting is just one candle per household. This is because it’s enough for an entire family to look at the light and reflect on this great miracle. But a person who feels distant from God because of all the wrong he has done may not feel worthy of having this great light shine down all the way to his lowly place. Therefore our Sages teach that a better way to light (Mehadrin)is for each individual to light his own candle. This way, each and every one of us realizes that the further we are, the happier we should be now that God is shining down to us. For if we are truly so distant and yet God has not abandoned us, how great is His love for us and how joyous we should be now!

But the very best way to light (Mehadrin Min HaMehadrin) is for each individual to light his own candle and add another candle every night. During each and every day of our lives, God performs numerous miraculous acts of kindness for each of us. God created us and will in fact finish what He started, bringing about our final redemption. Let us realize that this process has already begun and that every day He is miraculously bringing us closer, step by step. As we gaze at the holy Chanukah lights, let us remind ourselves and affirm our belief that even though we may be far, the journey home is already underway.

DavidT wrote on 17 Dec 2019 19:44:

The main point of Chanukah candles is to light up the darkness. The miracle of Chanukah came after the darkness of the Greek interlopers, who defiled the Temple, and when they doing so, they specifically made a point to defile every bottle of oil that was there, by breaking the seal of the Kohen Gadol.
They didn't break the bottles or pour out the oil; they merely broke the seals. Because they did this, we realize that it was more important to the Greeks to defile the oil than to destroy the Temple. What was their intention?

The Greeks didn't want to destroy us physically. Rather, they wanted to sever our connection to G‑d. They had no problem with us keeping Judaism, but they wanted us to do it out of our own free will, not purely for G‑d’s sake. The oil symbolized just that. The whole idea of purity and impurity is something that doesn't make sense according to logic. It is done purely because G‑d commanded. And that is what the Greeks couldn't handle and wished to destroy. Of course, once they started to make decrees, it snowballed into an outright war on Judaism.

And this is why we light the Chanukah menorah. Its purpose is to light up the darkness. To what extent is this to be manifested? The Talmud tells us that the mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles is until people, the tarmudai, finish coming from the marketplace. The tarmudai were the lowest of people, who rebelled against G‑d (tarmud in Hebrew has the same letters as the word moredet, “treason”).

One night, before lighting the Chanukah lecht, the Trisker Magid zt'l
asked one of his chassidim who had a short wife, "When you speak
with your wife, does she climb up on a chair to speak with you, or do you
bend down to speak with her?" After asking this question, the Rebbe lit the
Chanukah lecht.

Rebbe Mordechai Dov of Hornestieple zt'l explained his uncle’s (the Trisker Magid’s) surprising question based on the Gemara (Bava Metzia 59.) which states, "If you have a short wife, bend over to seek her counsel…" The Trisker Magid was hinting that on Chanukah, Hashem keviyachol bends over to whichever level we are on, to elevate us.
The Divrei Chaim of Tzanz zt'l said that on Shabbos, Hashem brings us
up to Him. On Yom Tov, which Klal Yisrael makes (because they make
Rosh Chodesh) Hashem comes down to us.
The Divrei Chaim of Tzanz zt'l writes, "When a king is sitting on his throne
in his palace, average people can't visit the king. Surely, those who are
being punished by the king because of their iniquities won't be able to visit
the king... However, when the king travels around his kingdom, it's his way
to visit the prisoners in jail… At this time, the prisoners shout, ‘King! Please
save us!'

When the Greeks came into the Bet Hamikdash, their goal was to defile it, as we read in the piyut, “וטימאו כל השמנים”. They were specifically looking for the pure jugs of oil, just so that they could contaminate them. They had complete access to them and no one was there to stop them. But Hashem, b’hashgacha Pratit, hid that one jug of oil from them, which remained sealed with the seal of the Kohen Gadol. That small jug had enough oil in it to light up the generations all the way until Mashiach. 

Hashem controls the world. Nobody can do anything against His will. During these days of Chanukah, we need to strengthen our belief in Hashem’s hashgacha. He gives everybody opportunities to shine in their own way. If we will utilize them, we’ll only be helping ourselves.

Life is filled with hashgachat Hashem. Sometimes Hashem is leading us to places we need to be in. Sometimes He’s testing us and sometimes He’s giving us opportunities to earn great merits. If we accept the situations we find ourselves in as His will and do the best we can to make the most of them, we’ll capitalize on those opportunities and earn great merits.

I thought now of an answer to the bais yosef's question (why is chanukah 8 days and not 7) you know why?
Hashem wanted to show us the power of ONE CLEAN DAY!

DavidT wrote on 25 Dec 2019 16:11:

.....as usual you spoken well and have given me/us a lot of chizuk. Keep strong my brother.

Right after we light the Chanukah candles, we say the words הנרות הללו קודש הם-These candles are holy. They radiate kedushah.  -אין לנו רשות להשתמש בהם We do not have permission to use them because they’re too sanctified. They bring kedushah into our homes. They bring kedushah into us and our children. 

The Kozhnitzer Rebbe taught that just looking at the candles purifies a person’s eyes. As well, there’s a great segulah for a person to stand by the candles and pour out his heart in prayer to Hashem asking for help with all of his needs. 

The sefer Ba’ti L’armoni adds when the candles are burning it’s an et ratzon. It’s a time to ask for help with shidduchim and shalom bayit and to be blessed with children. It’s also an opportune time to ask for help to understand the depths of the Torah, to be able to access the אור הגנוז, the special divine light that’s hidden in the words of Torah, which gives us full clarity, not only in Torah, but in all matters in life. 

There are many people who are hoping for better times. They must continue hoping. Salvation can always come in the blink of an eye, especially now, during these glorious days of Chanukah. Even the most dismal situation can turn around.

Sholom Mordechai’s son, Getzel Rubashkin, said “The miracle of my fathers release from jail on Zos Chanukkah, wasn’t just a personal yeshuah. It was a reminder to Klal Yisroel about the power of emunah and bitachon,”
“Ever since his release, gedolim and Jewish leaders around the world have been encouraging my father to dedicate himself to spreading the message of emunah and bitachon, and that is what he has done. ‘Alef, Bais, Gimmel’ has become a household phrase." 

Today is the final day of the final holiday which took place in our history. Chanukah culminates the miraculous time period in which we were able to see Hashem openly. The light of Chanukah illuminates our lives until today. The Sefat Emmet writes that this day, the eighth day of Chanukah, which we call Zot Chanukah is the main day of the holiday. The miracle was for eight days, and as each day progressed, the miracle became bigger and bigger. The strength of all the other days are found in this final day. 

The number eight always represents eternity, above nature. The power of this day is enormous. We need to take the kedusha we have gleaned from these holy days and carry them with us for the rest of the year. We can't imagine the strength we can get from even one mitzvah.