God With Us
We just celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ and all that birth means to us. Today is the first day of 2024 and with this recent reminder of the amazing gift Jesus represents, we shouldn’t rush into this year without taking Him and every aspect of His gift with us.
Long before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah told of the virgin birth and that the child would be called Immanuel, God with us. His appearance was God’s answer to Satan’s effort to separate us from God, which started in the garden with Adam and Eve. Jesus’s appearance and ministry is life altering to all of us who believe and trust in Him on a personal level. Once accepted, you won’t be the same and you will wonder how you managed before. I know I wonder how I made it through my twenties without Him. It is so counterintuitive to the world, but makes complete sense once you unwrap it for yourself.
Jesus promised we would not be orphans and that He would send a helper, which is the Holy Spirit. This is how we know we are not forsaken or left on our own. But how do we know He will meet all our needs? In this world, sometimes He feels very far away. There is a part we must play in all of this. Once we accept the gift that only Jesus can supply, we must keep it with us always. This way God is with us through everything.
I’ve suffered a chronic illness, and this week will mark the thirteenth year of disability because of it. I believe God can miraculously heal. I’ve seen it happen for others. The last thing I should do is lament that it wasn’t me. This is a fallen world with many trials and tribulations. How do we know God is with us? We know how to find contentment in all things because we believe He is for us and guiding us to an abundant life. Without Him, we never find contentment.
When we don’t have contentment, there is something God has to touch. We have to allow Him in so He can take care of it and help us see the right path. It’s by His riches, not the world’s, that we have all the things we need. It’s by His grace and mercy we obtain our life of contentment. We can learn a lot by reading the letters written by Paul in the New Testament. He had a great deal of ups and downs in life, but knew how to reside in all of them with God.
Jesus is our shepherd that laid His life down for us on a cross, but rose again so we can overcome death to find life in Him. He will come walk with us in this life if we invite Him in and accept His ways. It is because of Him we can have great hope in a world of turmoil.
Let’s take Him with us in all that we do in 2024. I’m looking forward to seeing what He has for me this year. There are always lessons to learn, things to overcome, but it is blanketed by a peaceful assurance even if we don’t always grasp the fullness of it until afterward. I’ve found no better source for hope and contentment.