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Emmanuel: God with Us
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they
shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Matthew
1:23
 Stop in the midst of your busy day to say to yourself, "The
Lord is with me." And pray that you will see Him who is invisible-and see Him
in your present situation. "God's unseen presence comforts me, I know He's
always near. And when life's storms besiege my soul, He says, 'My child, I'm
here.'" Jesus was to be called Emmanuel ("God with
us"), as predicted by Isaiah the prophet (Isaiah 7:14).
Jesus was God in the flesh; thus God was literally among us, "with
us." Through the Holy Spirit, Christ is present today in the life of every
believer. Perhaps not even Isaiah understood how far-reaching the meaning of
"Emmanuel" would be.
Our Lord is present with us no matter what each day brings.
It may be a day of joy or of sadness, of sickness or of health, of success or
of failure. No matter what happens to us today, our Lord is walking beside us,
strengthening us, loving us, filling us with faith, hope, and love. As He
envelops us with quiet serenity and security, our foes, fears, afflictions, and
doubts begin to recede. We can bear up in any setting and circumstance because
we know the Lord is at hand, just as He assured Paul of His presence in Acts
18:10, "For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I
have much people in this city."
We have the same assurance of God's presence Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob received, "After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in
a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy
exceeding great reward." "And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and
said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with
thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's
sake." "And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places
whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not
leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." (Genesis
15:1; 26:24; 28:15)
Sharing the Gospel of Christ in a hostile environment, we
need to receive the promise of God's presence. Jesus gave us the Great
Commission with this promise: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew
28:19-20 "Always," takes into
account all our various activities, the good and bad circumstances surrounding
us, the varied responsibilities we have through the course of our days, the
storm clouds and the sunshine.
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Rev. Telema W. Okobi, President
Gentle Flame Evangelistic Association
www.gentleflame.com
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