Immanuel - God With Us

Floyd is having yo-yo days again. Up and down. It's hard to watch this happen. It's times like this when I cling to the promise that "His grace is sufficient for every need" - including Floyd's needs in his situation. Without that promise, that truth, I think I would despair for my dear husband. We continue to pray for His sufficient grace for Floyd.

The days of December are already moving along - Christmas is just around the corner. I love Christmas! And now that Dec. is here, I can think and reflect on all the wonderful things I like about this time of the year.

One of my favourite words from this season is "Immanuel." God with us. It's such a powerful truth! We are never, ever alone. He is always with us - day and night, good days and hard days, through every sweet moment and every sad one. He is right by our side.

In Luke 1:28 in the Christmas story the angel appeared to Mary and said "Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you."

Mary, the woman who was chosen above all others to be the mother of Jesus - is told that God is with her. I don't know what she expected. If I were her, I think I would have expected good things. After all, she's the chosen one!

And yet things weren't easy for her:

• She had a pregnancy that no one understood. I imagine she was whispered about, pointed at, probably ridiculed. She may have been shunned and excluded because of the "questionable" pregnancy.

• She had to give birth (after riding for days on a donkey - no ambulance to take her to a nice hospital!) in the humblest of settings. I would have at least expected that God would provide a nice place for His Son to be born.

• She had to run and flee to another country because the king wanted to kill her son. In fact, she had to keep moving around because they were trying to find her, Joseph, and baby Jesus. She didn't have a nice, sweet home to raise her little son.

• She had to watch as her son was both loved and hated. I hate to think of all the things she heard people saying about Him. The words must have pierced her heart.

• She had to endure seeing her son mocked, beaten, and cruelly killed. I can't begin to imagine the pain of that.

And remember all this happened to a woman who was "highly favoured" and God said He was with her. Her life wasn't easy even though she was the chosen one. But the key - the most important thing - is that God WAS with her. That made all the difference!

Your life and my life will probably have things that aren't easy! But we have the same promise that Mary had. God is with us! He is Immanuel. He'll help us with whatever we have to face.

We don't have to stand in line to be with Him. We don't have to go somewhere to meet Him. We don't have to take turns being with Him. We don't have to wait to be with Him. We don't have to hope He'll have time for us - or that He'll speak to us. HE IS WITH US! 24/7, 365 days a year, every hour, every minute, every second He is with us. He never leaves us. He is Immanuel.

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which means God with us." Matthew 1:23

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go." Genesis 28:15

"My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:14

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

I am so grateful that He is Immanuel. I couldn't make it without Him. I've learned that He's only a whisper away when I need Him. He is truly with me!

Recently I have also been reflecting on a very different aspect of the Christmas story - fear. That certainly isn't something that comes readily to my mind when I think of all that happened. But it's there in several instances of the Christmas narrative.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary it says she was "greatly troubled." He told her "do not be afraid" Luke 1:26-30. It's easy to understand that this young, 14-16 year old virgin would be afraid when told she's going to become pregnant, never having known a man.

When the angel appeared to Joseph he told him "don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife" Matthew 1:18-25. I can't begin to imagine the thoughts swirling in Joseph's mind about all this. He certainly needed the angel's encouragement to not be afraid.

When the angels appeared to the shepherds "they were terrified" Luke 2:8-20. It must have been an incredible experience to suddenly have first an angel come and then the heavens filled with a host of angels singing and praising God. They may have wondered if they were going a little crazy after being alone out in the fields with the sheep for so long.

When the angel appeared to Zechariah to tell him that Elizabeth was going to bear a son who would prepare the way for the Lord - he was "troubled and overcome with fear." To me this seems like a normal reaction. I mean he and Elizabeth were both very old, had never had children, and it certainly didn't seem like old people would start having babies. But he was rebuked for his fear and struck dumb until after his son, John the Baptist, was born.

As I read these passages, I had such an encouraging sense that God understands our fears. Here in the midst of one of the greatest events in human history - there was fear. Except for Zechariah (maybe he was held to greater account because he was a priest), the response of the angel was to say "it's okay......this is God's doing.....you don't need to fear."

I think God understands when we go through our own unusual circumstances that we may have fear. I've had a number of fearful moments on this unexpected journey we're on - I still have them come up. I haven't had an angel appear and tell me all is well - but I have definitely had the sweet comfort of the Holy Spirit encouraging me that God is with me. His presence has been with me moment by moment. He has lifted fear and anxiety from my heart and given me His peace. He has never left me alone to face the situations that provoked my fear. He has been with me as I wrote in the last update.

It's also important to note that none of the individuals in the Christmas story stayed in their fear! They obeyed the angel when he instructed them to "not be afraid." We may not have an angel telling us this, but we must bring our fears to the Lord, lay them at His feet, and receive His grace and strength to "not be afraid." We can't allow our hearts and minds to live in a fearful place. It may be challenging, but God will give us the strength and courage we need to deal with our fears.

During this Christmas season, we can personally receive the message the angels brought long ago - "do not be afraid." God will help us just as He helped Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and Zechariah. We don't need to fear in whatever situation we're in.

"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." Psalm 56:3

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

"When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul." Psalm 94:19

"Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me." Psalm 23:4

"I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, for I myself will help you.' " Isaiah 41:13,14

There are so many verses that speak to "do not fear." I think the Lord knew it would be hard for us, so He made sure to speak to us over and over through the Word to not let fear enter in.

I'm grateful for the sweet presence of the Lord that helps me walk through the difficult situations of life without fear. As He holds my hand, whispers sweet encouragements into my heart, and never leaves me alone - I can walk in grace and peace. How good He is!