God With Us

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Matthew 1:22-23

Finally after almost three years I have reached the New Testament. I tried many different methods and systems to get myself to read my bible each day, if only a verse or two, but want to know what worked the best? Actually wanting to read. Actually wanting to spend time with God each day. Wanting to know and understand the promises in Jesus and truly understand the depth of His sacrifice. Yearning for the Word. That is what worked best. How did I get to that point? By humbling myself and seeing the greater picture. Knowing that not a sparrow falls from the sky without God knowing. Knowing I am nothing apart from Christ. Knowing that I will stumble and I will fall but without Christ, how will I rise up again? I can feel myself changing as I spend time away without God and without reading His word. How easily we are swayed without His guidance. And He always takes us back. No matter how long we stray.

This verse in Matthew is a verse most of us have heard before but in David Guzik’s commentary (enduringword.com) he quotes a man named Clarke…

“In what sense then, is Christ God with us? Jesus is called Immanuel, or God with us, in his incarnation; God with us, by the influences of hisHoly Spirit, in the holy sacrament, in the preaching of his word, in private prayer. And God with us, through every action of our life, that we begin, continue, and end in his name. He is God with us, to comfort, enlighten, protect, and defend us, in every time of temptation and trial, in the hour of death, in the day of judgment; and God with us and in us, and we with and in him, to all eternity.”

“God with us” is truly a remarkable promise. As Clarke expounded on this phrase that I have read so many times, I am convicted of my feeble faith and my insurmountable doubts. How blessed is the life of a Christian? Our Almighty God is with us at all times. He never parts from us. We only part from Him. He never changes. He is the only true constant in this life. As all else passes away, God is with us.

God is with me. And for that I am thankful.