God With us
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us’).”
In speaking with many of my friends during this holiday season, I can’t help but pause and think about how many of them are spending the holiday in a different place than they had anticipated. At the beginning of the pandemic there was hope that our life “would be normal” by now, but a lot of my friends find themselves far from their family and friends…and celebrating the holiday that way can leave people feeling lonely, forgotten or depressed.
This holiday season is probably much different than you had anticipated. You are probably finding yourself far from family or friends. Possibly the hope that things would be “back to normal” by now was so strong earlier this year but now things are different…the light doesn’t feel so strong. And then a familiar Christmas song came to my mind, “O Come, O Come, Immanuel….” IMMANUEL. God WITH us. Throughout all the stories of the Bible we see how God was with His people. And now, in this new season of Christianity God was making his presence known in a different, new way. God WITH us. But the realization that God is WITH us didn’t come easy for Mary or Joseph. It tested their faith in every level. Mary was faced with a decision to trust God that the miracle inside her was indeed from God. And Joseph had to trust and believe that what Mary carried was a miracle intended for the both of them to nurture.
What are you walking through in your life where you may be questioning, is God WITH me? And if God is with me, where is He in this whole situation? Maybe for some of you, you are facing a situation you never imagined facing, can you repeat these words with me? GOD IS WITH ME. God IS with me. God is WITH me. God is with ME.
My hope for you this season is that you focus on that very thought. I may not know how this situation will play out. I may not when this season will change, but I WILL choose to shift my thought on the fact that GOD IS WITH ME. So, during this season I encourage you to think about all the WONDERFUL, LOVELY and GOD-FILLED blessings you have in your life. Right now. In this moment. Close your eyes, take three deep breaths. Breathe God in, breathe your feeling of anxiety out. And say God. Is. With. Me.
What a beautiful gift to unwrap those words this Christmas. God is with me.
Merry Christmas dear friend.
