December Mid-Month Moments by Connie Inglis

 Mid-Month Moments

Isaiah 7:14. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."

Immanuel - God with us. Did you know this is the first time that word is used in the Bible? And after that, there are only two other times it's used. Once more in Isaiah (which I won't expound upon here) and then in Matt. 1:23 with the fulfillment of the prophecy: "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel..”

God's presence. It came in the form of a baby boy, bringing with Him the promise of His presence to those who believe. Even in John 14, when Jesus tells His disciples that He will be going away, He doesn't leave them without God's presence and promises the Holy Spirit. In John 14:16, 17a Jesus says, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth."

Because of the arrival of Jesus, Immanuel, God's presence is always with us.

But there are instances in the Old Testament where God DOES remove His presence, or threatens to do so.  In Exodus 3, when God calls Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, God says in vs 12, "I will be with you..." Immanuel. God's presence went with Moses and stayed with him and the Israelites all the way until they reached Mount Sinai. But then the Israelites built and worshipped the golden calf. God is so angry with the people that this is what He says in Ex. 33:2, 3, "I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”

The people were so distressed by this that they began to mourn and not adorn themselves. They realized the seriousness of their sin. To be away from God's presence was unthinkable! So Moses entered The Tent of Meeting to plead before God for the people.

Ex. 33:15-17: "Then Moses said to him, 'If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?' 17 And the Lord said to Moses, 'I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.'”

Immanuel. God with us. Moses understood the gravity of the situation; he knew that without God's presence, they were just like every other nation in the world--that there was almost no point in going forward.

This causes me to stop and reflect. Do I have that kind of perspective on the importance of God's abiding presence? Do I understand the power and the purpose of Immanuel--God with me? And if so, what is my response? Am I giving God all the glory due His name, thankful that He sent His Son Jesus, to give me His eternal presence? And do the people around me look at me differently because God's presence is always with me? 

During this Christmas season, I pray that we will all take time to stop and think about what it truly meant when Jesus came to earth to offer us His Immanuel presence. And may we consider how we reflect that to the world.

Heb. 13:5b (AMP version): for He [God] has said, “I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!”

With a grateful heart,

Connie

December 12, 2018

Mid-Month Moments are past devotionals written by Connie Inglis that she shared each week when she was InScribe's spiritual advisor. (Originally called 'Mid-Week Moments') They are shared from her archives with permission in the middle of each month.