Advent and Christmas is a time when we reflect on all God has done for us. He sent His Son, Jesus, to earth in order to rescue us from death. The very promise of Emmanuel, which means God is With Us, is worth reflecting on this Christmas.
In the Old Testament, a prophecy unfolds:
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. - Isaiah 7:14
This prophecy is later echoed in the New Testament:
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel” (which means “God with us”). - Matthew 1:23
Jesus as our Emmanuel reminds us that the Creator of the universe is not distant. He’s not an indifferent being, but rather a God Who chooses to dwell among His creation. Jesus, “God with us,” is the bridge between the holy and our humanity.
God is With Us When We Feel Alone
In those moments when solitude enwraps us, when we feel heavy with grief or loneliness, we may feel like we are completely alone. Many of us feel this way during the holiday season due to broken relationships or loss. As everyone around us is celebrating and being merry, we may feel forgotten or excluded.
God is with us in those quiet corners of our lives. His whisper can comfort us and break the thick silence we feel. God is ever-present and with us on the journey. He knows your hurts, your doubts, your pain.
In scripture, God’s people sometimes felt forgotten and alone. They were under Roman rule and oppression. Where was God?
God became flesh and dwelt among them. He made His presence known. God became tangible, real, and lived in their very presence.
He lived alongside them. Jesus felt joy, pain, anger, and sadness. He experienced rejection, loneliness, loss, and abuse. He knows what you’re going through, and He is with you in the midst of it.
Emmanuel, God With Us, comes close when we feel alone. He is an ever-present help and comfort. You are never alone when the very presence of God, through the Holy Spirit, dwells not just among you, but within you.
Related Post: 7 Bible Verses for When You Feel Alone
God is With Us in Our Messiness
At the time before Jesus’s birth, God’s chosen people were not perfect. They were messy, sinful, desperate people. What did God do?
He came CLOSER.
There were a bunch of messy, broken people. God didn’t run away – He came closer by sending Emmanuel, God With Us. He sent Jesus to dwell among our broken humanity.
News flash: We are all messy, broken people. That may not be much of a surprise to hear!
But, have you ever felt so messy, or so broken, that you thought you were unlovable? That you pushed everyone away, because you didn’t want a single soul to know who you really were and what you really did?
Many of us have felt that way at one point in our lives, and it is tempting to keep others at a distance in those moments.
But God, in His perfect, unconditional love for you, comes CLOSER. He’s not running away. He’s not intimidated by your brokenness. There’s nothing too broken for God to heal.
If your life is messy right now and you don’t know where to turn, there is no place safer than God’s presence. Run to God. His presence is filled with comfort, peace, and healing.
God is With Us to Save Us
God’s great story, throughout all of humanity, is one of restoration. As people, we have been rebelling against God for generations. Desperately lost and broken. God could have given up on us long ago, but here is what He did instead:
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. - Luke 19:10
He CAME. But, Jesus didn’t stop there. He didn’t just enter the world, He also sought after us for a purpose: to save us.
We are all in desperate need of rescue. We are lost, broken, and headed for destruction. What will keep us from despair and death? Jesus. When there doesn’t seem to be a way out, Jesus comes. He comes, looking for us.
Jesus is not seeking after us in order to condemn or judge us. He’s not an angry parent coming to chew us out. No, He comes to save us.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. - John 3:17
Jesus left heaven, took on flesh, and dwelt among us to sacrifice Himself for us. He came to be with us, live alongside us, and die in our place.
Related Post: 10 Bible Verses Every New Christian Should Know
God is With Us to Love Others
What does Emmanuel, God With Us, mean this Christmas in our relationships with others?
Just like Jesus, don't shy away from other people's messiness.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! - Philippians 2:5-8
To be “God with us” to others, we need to follow the example of Jesus. We need to make ourselves nothing, taking on the nature of a servant. We need to humble ourselves and be obedient to what God has called us to do.
Emmanuel reminds us to be present in the lives of those around us, care for the broken, come near to those who are in crisis. When others are shying away, we need to come closer. Lean in to those who desperately need God’s love and hope.
For us, Emmanuel isn’t just a name we sing at Christmas. It is our very source of hope and comfort. Emmanuel, God with us, is our rescue. In moments of isolation, despair, or uncertainty, knowing that God is with us provides solace and strength.
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