God With Us

Let the darkness flee - the Light of the world has come!!

The world is a battlefield.

The call to arms is unmistakably clear.

“Go and make disciples of all nations.”

But how do we face this mission? Where do we find the strength to fulfill it? Sometimes, the darkness is overwhelming. Our own strength always falls short, no matter how hard we try. So where do we find the power to carry out our task given to us by our Commander, the Lord?

Emmanuel.

That’s how.

“Emmanuel”, translated from the Hebrew, literally means: “God with us.” It’s a name for Christ, a declaration, a stamp, that His covenant promises will be fulfilled. Throughout history, the Father has told His people again and again that He is their God, and He will not abandon them.

This Christmas day, I want to dwell on an obscure theme, one you will not hear talked about often: assurance.

Assurance that we are never alone in the fight. Assurance that the One who calls us to this mission does not send us unarmed or unaccompanied.

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“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

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These verses, and countless others, have constituted a promise God has made and fulfilled over and over again throughout the Bible and through history—the promise that we will never be alone.

Oftentimes, it really does feel like there’s no one by our side. When temptation becomes so strong, you feel like withstanding it is impossible. When tragedy strikes, and all you can focus on is the unbearable pain, and wondering if God is even there….or ever has been there.

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“I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain.” - Exodus 3:11-12

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Do you see why we, as Christians, need assurance of the fulfillment of God’s promises? We’re small and fallen, and our faith is weak. Doubt is something many struggle with. But we haven’t been left in the dust, because the Bible covers this issue many times over:

Isaiah 41:10

Deuteronomy 31:6

Jeremiah 29:11

Psalm 46:1

Psalm 27:1

Psalm 139:7-10

Jeremiah 23:23-24

And the list goes on.

I could spend the entire post just naming Old Testament verses that assure you of the truth of Emmanuel, “God with us.” Despite that, I would submit that this theme of assurance is woefully overlooked in a lot of areas.

But Christ is constantly telling us that He’s always there, because He knows what kind of state of mind we are in constantly. We’re an emotional, mental rollercoaster, compared to Him. We doubt, we lose heart, we fall short of the mark, and possess little faith.

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“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” - Psalm 23:4

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A thousand times, we’ve been re-assured of the fact that God is, indeed, with us.

And yet…all the promises…all the reassurances of the Lord’s presence, culminate in one extraordinary moment. The birth of Christ as a man—lowly, despised, held by a thirteen-year old mother in a stable, surrounded by filthy animals. This doesn’t seem like much of an extraordinary moment, does it?

In fact, it’s the greatest moment the world has ever seen. The Son of God incarnated, come down from his throne on high to be a sacrifice, that we might live.

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“‘She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” - Matthew 1:21-23

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In Jesus Christ, the promise of Emmanuel became flesh and dwelt among us. He didn’t just say, “I will be with you.” He literally came to live among us, sinners though we are. He came beside us, walked with us, and even paid the ultimate price—for us.

This is why Christmas is so powerful.

It’s not just a celebration of a baby in a manger.

It’s the celebration of the moment when God finally entered our battlefield in a way He never had before.

The moment He didn’t just promise to be with us, but physically came into our world, our pain, our darkness, and our sin to save us.

When we look at the manger, we see the Son of Man who took on flesh to fight the battle alongside us. When we are weak, and feel unsure of our mission, the birth of Jesus of Nazareth reminds us, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that God has not left us to fight alone.

Because of Christ, the words “God with us” are no longer just a promise—they are a reality. And because of that, we have assurance.

Assurance that we are never alone, not even for a moment.

Assurance that the One who came to live among us will never abandon us. Not in life, not in death, not in eternity.

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“For neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor principalities, nor height nor death, nor anything else in all of Creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:38-39

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This Christmas, dwell on the theme of assurance. Dwell on the greatest declaration of all time that God is with us…..the lowly birth of the Lord.

The battle is present and real, but so is our Savior.

Emmanuel has come.

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“A thrill of hope
The weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees
O, hear the angel voices
O, night divine….

O, night when Christ was born”

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Merry Christmas, friends!! Thank you all so much for your support.