Emmanuel – God With Us: Christmas Comfort for a Lonely World

Scriptures: Isaiah 9:1-7, Matthew 1:23, Colossians 1:26-27

Emmanuel: God is with You

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given… and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 NIV

These words were spoken by the prophet Isaiah to a land and a people in darkness. Desperate and without hope, they were in bondage and oppressed by their enemy. 

This promise brought the hope and light they so desperately needed. A Son would be born, Jesus their Savior. He would also be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Matthew 1:23 describes the holy child as Emmanuel, which means “God with us.”

Do you know him? Have you experienced the wonder of his presence in your life? If you feel lost or abandoned – without hope in a dark world – reach out. Open your heart and receive this child, this King, into your life. He is with you. You are not alone. 

In his presence, fear disappears, chains break, despair dissipates. In his presence, light comes to drive out depression and fill every dark and lonely place of your soul. Hope comes with the reassurance that you can make it through this time of testing to better days ahead. 

Your ability to approach life with confidence and trust can be strengthened with the simple understanding that there is someone beside you. God is with you. Emmanuel.

Scriptures: Psalms 62:8, Psalms 61:1-4, 1 Peter 5:7

Wonderful Counselor: His Understanding is Infinite

“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; his understanding is infinite.” Psalm 147:5 NJKV

Life can be overwhelming. Difficult relationships, troubled finances, stress at work – it can feel like you’re drowning sometimes. Have you ever wished for someone you could tell all your troubles to? Someone who would listen without judgement or condemnation? 

Did you know that God welcomes you to pour out your heart before him? He invites you to trust him with your troubles, to cast all your cares and anxieties upon him. When you feel beat up and battered by the storms of life, the Bible says that he is your refuge.

His understanding is infinite; his love, limitless. You can talk to him. You can trust him to hold the deep secrets of your heart carefully in his hand. In that knowledge, there is hope, there is joy, there is consolation.

God has not asked you to figure out life on your own. Jesus is there for you. He is the Wonderful Counselor with a listening ear and words of hope and wisdom that can guide you through every situation you face.

Scriptures: Romans 8:28, 2 Peter 1:3, Ephesians 1:18-21

Mighty God: God is for You

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 NIV

It’s hard to have a good relationship with someone when your defenses are up. If you feel like you have to keep up your guard – watching everything you say and everything you do, never quite knowing how it will be taken – then every conversation will be shallow. Every interaction will be limited and the relationship will never blossom and grow into what it could or should be.

You can let down your guard with God. There’s no need for pretense or self-protection with him. He is for you! He is working all things for your good.

Take a moment and consider this. The Mighty God, the creator of the universe, is on your side – and there is nothing that can separate you from his love. You don’t have to worry about being misunderstood with him or wonder what he will think when he realizes you’re not “perfect.”

His saving power is available to you. He has already made provision for your frailties and failings. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in the lives of those who believe in him. 

In this, there is freedom! You don’t have to be afraid. You don’t have keep your guard up. God is on your side.

Scriptures: Revelation 13:8, 1 John 3:1, 1 John 4:10

Everlasting Father: God Loves You

“‘I have loved you with an everlasting love…’” Jeremiah 31:3

From the beginning of time, the Everlasting Father has loved you with an everlasting love. The Son that was given – born to a virgin in a humble stable and laid in a straw-filled manger – was sent because God “so loved the world.” (John 3:16)

The holy child, the Son of God, was sent to earth so that you could live and not die. Jesus is the promised sacrificial lamb, “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelations 13:8) so that the sin that would prevent you from entering God’s presence would be covered by his blood.

What love displayed!

Before the world began, you were on God’s mind! You are not alone. The lover of your soul is right there with you, beside you, loving you even before time began.

If you’re feeling unloved and alone, remember the baby in the manger and then remember his death on the cross. This is love. This is God’s love for you.

Scriptures: Psalms 8:3-4, Psalms 111:2-4, John 14:27

Prince of Peace: He is All Around You

 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1 NIV

Have you ever felt like God was far away – far removed from your daily life and the heartaches and struggles you are going through? Maybe work is chaotic or your household is in an uproar and it’s hard to imagine that God is near.

In those lonely moments, step into nature. Take a walk or turn your gaze out your office window and you’ll see the evidence of God. The heavens declare it, the skies proclaim it – the glory of God can be seen in all his creation! The beauty of a sunset, the hush of softly falling snow, the glory of the turning leaves of fall – these are all beautiful reminders that God is near.

He has not forgotten his creation. He has not forgotten you. The Prince of Peace is in control. Let this truth sink into your soul. Let his peace saturate your very being. He is here. 

He is Emmanuel. God is with you and with me. God is with us.