"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and will call Him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14
"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
Jesus is known by many names and I love them all. Perhaps the one name that is especially comforting to me, especially here and now in this crazy land we call “2020,” is Emmanuel.
Immanuel (Hebrew), or Emmanuel (Greek) both mean “God with us.” Think about it… what greater gift can there possibly be than for the God of the universe, I mean God Almighty Himself, the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the End. Our Father, protector, the one Who is in all and holds all things together, the Prince of Peace… humbled Himself to be born of a virgin, becoming man, just so that He could be with us.
It’s difficult to imagine… but what peace and comfort to know God is with us. Always. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Sometimes, especially lately, it feels as though we’ve been abandoned. But we are not abandoned! 2 Corinthians 4:9 reminds us that while in this life we are persecuted, yet we are not abandoned.
We are not abandoned! God loved us so much that He sent us Jesus. Jesus is Emmanuel - God, in human form, living among us. In John 14:8 & 9, Phillip asked Jesus to show them the Father, and Jesus responded “Don’t you know Me, Phillip… Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” That means God… Almighty God… Righteous, Holy God… was literally with us, walking this earth.
But that was then, Jesus isn’t here walking among us now… yes He is. Remember, God is three persons in one. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit to us. In John 14:16-17 Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.”
Again, the God of the universe… you know, HIM… the One… is still with us today in the form of the Holy Spirit. This means we have an even more intimate relationship with God now. While Jesus walked side-by-side with the disciples, we have the Holy Spirit living within us. This means God is literally with us every moment of every day in every circumstance. In good times, and in bad, God is with us. This is why I have hope. This is why the name Emmanuel is so comforting to me. Because I know with absolute certainty that no matter what, God is with us!