“As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. ‘Joseph, son of David,’ the angel said, ‘do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’” (Matthew 1:20–21 NLT)

 

When an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream in Matthew 1, he brought astonishing news. Mary had not been unfaithful, as Joseph had suspected. Instead, she was the virgin spoken of by the prophet Isaiah 750 years earlier.

Joseph certainly would have been familiar with Isaiah’s prophecy. “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)” (Isaiah 7:14 NLT). The idea that Isaiah’s well-known prophecy would be fulfilled by Mary surely would have met with some skepticism by Joseph if it hadn’t been for the awe-inspiring angelic being delivering the news.

The child Mary was carrying was Immanuel: God with us. What a staggering thought that must have been for Joseph. And what a staggering thought it is for us. In fact, it is the essence of Christianity.

If you compared the Christian faith to all other religious worldviews, this would be the clear distinction: Christianity is “God with us.” Christianity does not require that we try to somehow earn God’s approval. The Christian faith teaches that it is God with us, living inside of us, helping us to be the men and women He has called us to be. Christianity says that we are never alone.

Jesus echoed this thought when He said, “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 NLT). And in Hebrews 13:5, God said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you” (NLT).

We may not always sense God’s presence, but that’s because of the work of our spiritual enemy. When life’s horizons turn dark and circumstances threaten to overwhelm us, the devil whispers in our ear that God has abandoned us. When we give in to temptation, the devil berates us and tries to convince us that God would never stand beside such a flawed person. But we need to see through the strategies of our enemy. We need to cling to the rock-solid promises of our heavenly Father.

Maybe you need to be reminded of God’s presence in your life right now. Maybe you’re feeling alone. God is with you. Maybe someone close to you has let you down or disappointed you. God is with you. The great message of Christmas that we must always remember is this: “Immanuel: God with us.”

 

Reflection question: How do you recognize God’s presence in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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