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
This well-known Christmas verse we hear many times during the season, most frequently is attributed to Matthew. Matthew gives a brief account of the birth of Jesus and the angels coming to Mary and Joseph. He points out that this was to fulfill the promise of God given more than 700 years previously to the prophet Isaiah: “The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us’” (Matthew 1:23-24 NLT).
That original promise was given in a time of turmoil and trouble when the Messiah was desperately needed, just like when Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary.
This Savior, the One who would be God with us in all our joys and struggles, was first promised in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve went their own way and broke fellowship with God and changed everything, God with incredible love and purpose stepped in and promised Jesus, the One who would restore everything sin and Satan had broken. He would come to be God forever with us.
All throughout the broken times of the wanderings, the judges and the prophets, through days of great struggle, the same promise kept surfacing. God was coming to be with us, His beloved creation, forever. Emmanuel would come.
There has never been an expiration date on that promise, and there never will be. There is no location limitation either, and there never will be. Jesus promised, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 NIV).
Paul knew Jesus well and had experiences to back up his faith. He expressed it this way: “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35, 37-38 NLT). Jesus is God with us always.
- December 24, 2024 – right where you are. This is still the promise. God is with you – always.