Immanuel … Still!

Scripture:  Deuteronomy 31:8 NKJV – “And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

Matthew 1:23 NKJV  - “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

We hear this all the time – God is with you always! But how many times do we go through things and feel like He’s not? At what point do you realize that it’s because we’ve distanced ourselves from Him? He hasn’t moved, we did! He is immutable – never changing. God said in His Word (more than once) that He will never leave us nor forsake us. History (and life) has proven that He does not and cannot lie! If we would only take Him at His Word and live like we believe it, we would save ourselves from so much heartache. You know the lyrics to the hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus – ‘oh what peace we often forfeit … oh what needless pain we bear … all because we do not carry EVERYTHING to God in prayer’.

When we read the story of Jesus’ birth, we become familiar with certain events … certain words and scripture references stick out in our minds. One of my favorites is Matthew 1:23 – Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.” What an amazing way to introduce the Name of the One Who was being sent to earth to live among us as the Son of God and Son of Man … the One sent to save us! God with us! In our moments of despair and uncertainty, we have to encourage ourselves and go into recall mode – He did it before, He can (and will) do it again!

Whatever God allows in our lives – good, bad or indifferent – He is with us, STILL! When things are going right, He is there. When things aren’t going right, He is there. No matter what, HE IS THERE … STILL! He hasn’t changed … He won’t change! So hold fast to what you know and Who you know! God will always be there – He’s been there in the past, He’s there right now and He will be there in the future. He is with us … STILL!!

Prayer: Father, thank You for being faithful to Your Word! Thank You for being there! Thank You that You don’t base Your faithfulness to us on our faithfulness to You! (WHEW!) God we honor You for who You are! You are righteous! You are Sovereign! Help our unbelief!! You have proven Yourself over and over and over again. Help us to rest in Your Word and know that You are with us! Thank You for being with us through the good and the not so good. Thank You that You don’t allow us to be consumed by the ways of the world. Thank You that You are our refuge and that we can run to You whenever we need to. May we remember that through it all – ALL – You are with us! In Jesus’ Name we always pray … AMEN!

(by Cassaundra Turner)