The Promise of God with Us
“The Lord Himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” Isaiah 7:14 (NLT)
Isaiah speaks more about the promised Messiah than does any other Old Testament prophet. Today’s promise from Isaiah 7:14 is a promise that makes Christmas personal, meaningful, powerful and life changing. Not only did he predict that a Messiah would come but he said that Messiah would be God Himself, clothed in the flesh and blood of a human baby! This is the promise of Advent! Advent comes from a Latin word meaning arrival or coming.
In this Advent promise, the prophet talks about a sign that God would give His people to look for as they awaited the coming of the Messiah. The sign would be unmistakable. Nothing like it had ever happened before or since. A virgin would conceive a child? (No wonder people thought prophets were weird.) Who ever heard of such a thing? It’s not possible! Yet that was the miracle of Christmas, wasn’t it? History records it. The sign points to a promise. A virgin would conceive and give birth to a son who would be called “Immanuel” which means “God is with us.”
What a promise of hope! God is with us! That was the promise of Advent. And it is a promise fulfilled! Immanuel is here, present by the Holy Spirit to make real to you and me the presence of God in our lives. That can be both comforting and disturbing. What does it mean to you to know that God is with you? He is not distant or far removed from us. The Bible says, “In Him, we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28 (NIV)
Your discovery of God’s promise to be with you will make life an adventure if you will practice the presence of God along the way. Learn to cultivate God’s presence by claiming this promise each day. As a Christ follower, God is with you and will never leave you or forsake you!
“Thank you, God, for becoming man, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, that I may know You and relate to You. Thank you that You are with me, completely available to me 24/7. Help me to practice Your presence moment by moment.” In Your Son’s name, Amen.
What are ways in which you can practice the presence of God?
Is it comforting or disturbing to you that God is with you?
How does recognizing God is with you make a difference in your life?
What signs has God given you that He is with you?
Read Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:18-25 and join us this evening at Woodlands Church for one of our Christmas Eve Services. Check out our website for services and times on all three campuses at wc.org or join us online at live.wc.org.