Finding Hope...In God's Promise

First Week of Advent

“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.

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you’” Luke 1:26-28.

by Michele Husfelt on November 28, 2022

As we enter the Advent season, the very definition of the word reminds us to reflect on Jesus’ first arrival as we anticipate His coming again. We know from Scripture the name Jesus was declared before His birth and identified Him as the One who would save His people from their sins. However, the name Isaiah pronounced upon the future Messiah in Isaiah 7:14 brought even greater, immediate Hope to a desperate world. That name was Immanuel, meaning God with Us.

Not only did Jesus come to bring eternal salvation, but Isaiah reminds us that the everlasting Savior of the world is constantly present in the daily moments of our lives. In the everyday and the mundane, in the joys and sorrows, in the discouragement and darkness, He is with us. When devastation invades our mountaintops, in the heartbreak of a loved one lost, when the grief sucks the very breath from our lungs, the good news is that He is Immanuel – God with Us.

Because His name is Immanuel, we have no need to summon Him in times of need. His presence is not dependent on anything we can do or say; He is simply with Us. He does not come when we beckon, rather He graciously awaits our acknowledgment and response to His already present existence. Though the receiving of His presence and grace is not mandated, He continues to remain with us, as our communion with Him is His greatest design and desire.

As we reflect on this time of celebration, remembering the humble arrival of Jesus our Messiah, may we look forward with great hope to His second return. Let us be mindful that in the in-between, He steadfastly remains Immanuel – God with Us.

Further Reflection: What is one pressing concern you are facing that could be less stressful when you remind yourself that He is Immanuel – He is with you?

Additional Reading: Matthew 28:20b