Dec 3 Immanuel

I can think of no name more significant than "Immanuel".  This name was given to Jesus by the prophet Isaiah 700 years before His birth (Isaiah 7:14). 

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 

Immanuel is a Hebrew word meaning "God is with us". 

He didn't have to come, but He did, so that we could understand that He was with us, that He would never leave us, that he had complete understanding of the struggles that we might face every day. 

Struggles with 

people

money

places to stay

family

death

mourning

sickness

betrayal

pain

suffering

those who didn't understand Him

those who didn't like Him

those who wanted to put Him to death

He gets it!  He has gone through it!When no one understands what you are feeling or going through, Jesus understands, because He is Immanuel, God is with us!

In our life there will be trouble, but Immanuel is with us. All power, all authority is with us!  If Jesus is with us, then we are more than conquerors!  Even in the darkest hours He is with us, He understands.  If you are a follower of Jesus,  Be completely assured that Immanuel is with you. 

Prayer

Jesus, I am so grateful that you are Immanuel, not only that you came to earth in human form and experienced what we experienced, but also that you came so that we know that you understand, we are never alone. You tell us that you will never leave us or forsake us, that you are with us always even to the end of the age. Thank you. Jesus, Our Immanuel we celebrate you, we thank you for being with us! In those moments when we feel so desperately alone, whisper to us, I am here, I understand, I am Immanuel!  

Pain, Pain Go Away!

Sitting in the middle of a conference, all of a sudden something did not feel right. My back was killing me. It was as if someone was sticking a knife into my lower back and twisting it. The pain was unbelievable!


I layed down on the floor in the back of the room thinking that maybe it would get better.  It didn't! Then I  realized that I needed to drive home. 


I hobbled to the car and tried to sit down. "Ow, ow, ow, ow". I kept whimpering. The thirty minutes it took to get home were extremely painful! I had to pull over at one point because I was crying so much.  Who knew that your back could cause you so much pain? Please make the pain go away!


Once I got home, I crawled up the stairs and layed in the bed. I was praying that I would just pass out so I wouldn't feel any more pain. When my husband got home and discovered his pitiful wife in pain he suggested that we go to urgent care. All I could do is nod.


Because sitting caused more pain, I layed down in the back seat of the car. Upon arriving at urgent care the pain had significantly increased and the only way I could cope with it was to once again lay down. Without hesitation and no embarrassment on my part, I layed down on the waiting room floor! The hardest part was rolling on to my side to stand up when they called my name. 


After a battery of exams and x-rays they gave me a shot!  Oh blessed Demerol!  The shot was heavenly! Soon I was able to manage the pain enough to go to sleep!  The recovery from whatever happened to my back took 6 months to go away completely and years to regain the numbness that I felt in my left leg. 

We all have things that cause us pain.  Sometimes the pain is extreme like my back and other times the pain is ongoing and manageable. In the midst of my back pain, all I could think about was making it go away.

Pain has a way of confusing us. It gets us to focus only on the pain. 

The pain deceives us into thinking that;

No one understands

Things will never get better

God has abandoned us

It is important in the middle of the pain to remember what is true!

1. God understands 

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. I John 4:9-10

"He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.) Luke 22:44 

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from saving me,so far from my cries of anguish? ² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. Psalm 22:1-2

2.Things will get better

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

Jeremiah 29:11

3. God is Always with us


For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39



Father, We do not always understand why there is so much pain in the world. Help us to trust in you and trust in the truth of your word. I believe that you understand my pain. I believe that there is hope for things to get better and that you are always with me. In the midst of our pain we ask you to make yourself and your presence known to us.