God Is With UsNäide

Jesus, Our Immanuel

The Lord himself will give you the sign. -Isaiah 7:14

Tim, Nathan, and Bruce evoked fear in the junior high students among us. Any one of the trio was a threat; together they were even more menacing.

One evening at a party, I was called outside to “meet with them.” I went, but not without anxiety and fear.

Something happened, however, that brought me relief. Paul, a confident upperclassman, came outside with me. His presence was a gamechanger.

In Isaiah 7, Judah’s King Ahaz was faced with a coalition that shook him and his followers to the core (vv. 1-2). But God had a word for him, “Tell him he doesn’t need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers” (v. 4).

God also had a sign for those paralyzed by the presence of invading forces: “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’)” (v. 14). The sign was the birth of one whose name meant “God is with us.”

Roughly seven centuries later, the gospel writer Matthew saw the birth of Jesus as a fulfillment of this prophecy (see Matthew 1:23). The life and ministry of Jesus was a gamechanger, demonstrating what things look like when God is with us.

Life changes for the weary, anxious, and fearful. Forgiveness is granted to all who receive this amazing gift.

Arthur Jackson

What has it meant for you to believe that God has shown up in the person and work of Jesus? What about Him, as seen in the Gospels, helps you when you’re anxious and fearful?

Father, thank You for loving me and sending Jesus as a sign of Your great love for me. Blessed be Your name!