Immanuel

I remember one day, I was on my knees on our bedroom floor crying out to God. It was a season in my life where I felt so distant from Him. I desperately wanted to hear His voice and feel His presence. I tell myself a lot to “stick to what you KNOW, not how you FEEL.” So as I was crying out “Lord, I know You are here, I know You are here.”  The Lord clearly spoke to me “I am Immanuel (God with us), I’m not just here around you, I am WITH you!” How powerful! Yes, He is with me, He walks through deep waters and through fire with me. He is not a God who sits on His throne merely watching as I walk through this life, He is WITH me. He knows my pain, my struggles, my confusion, doubts and fears. He knows because He walked this Earth before me. He is Jesus who came down to dwell among us. He was before me and He walks with me now and always.


"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."  Isaiah 7:14

When our son, Trent was younger we took him to a bounce house. As soon as we arrived, Trent headed straight to the biggest slide. He climbed all the way up to the top and then began to cry and refuse to come down. He did not realize how high it was until he got up there. So, I took off my shoes and started climbing up to rescue him. He was crying and so scared but as soon as he saw me, he jumped in my arms and calmed down completely. We still had to go down the slide, the path before him had not changed at all but now I was with him and that made all the difference in the world. We may face some treacherous looking paths and God may not change our circumstances, but like Trent we can be at complete peace because He is with us. We are not alone on this journey. 

Maybe our gracious God knew we would “feel” distant and question His presence because Scripture is packed with verses that tell us not to fear. A lot of these verses that begin with “Do not be afraid” often end with “because I am WITH you.”

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, Yes I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  Isaiah 41:10  

Not only is God WITH us. He holds us! Actually He has upheld us from birth (Isaiah 46:3.) Tenth Avenue North has a song called “By your side.” There is a line in the song that says “please don’t fight these hands that are holding you.” We often jump out of those precious hands of the Comforter. Why? Because we believe we can handle things on our own or maybe accomplish things quicker than the One who holds time in His hands. How foolish! These hands that hold the world are most certainly holding us as well. What a magnificent God! Immanuel!