God WITH Us

“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.” (Isaiah 7.14  NLT)

Immanuel. Hebrew for “God with us.” Jesus as foretold by the prophets hundreds of years before His birth. And who He is to us as believers today. But it’s more than that. . .

He’s not just with us. . .He’s WITH us. Jesus is invested. Cares about us. He’s got our back. 

“. . .And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28.20 NLT)

This quote from Jesus is so we know in our knower. Convinced. With no doubt so our lives will be lived standing on rock-solid assertion. Confidant assurance that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are truly WITH us.

“. . .For God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.’ So we can say with confidence, ’The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. . .” (Hebrews 13.5-6 NLT)

Yet we struggle.

The enemy slings confidant assurance interrupters our way. Whether it's core lies of the past or circumstances from the present, satan will do anything to make us cower in fear.

Yet Hebrews 3.6 assures us that God is our helper. That we can stand with confidence. So why is it I often end up in the fetal position, trembling with fear?



The Cowardly Lion (of Wizard of Oz fame) is known for his lack of courage. But he was his own worst enemy. In this example, he talked himself into a fear-filled frenzy over spooks in the woods that were a figment of his imagination.

Don't we do the same?

We let fear supersede our good judgment and firm resolve. Then the belief of ‘God WITH us’ goes out the window faster than flying monkeys after Dorothy. 

Like the Cowardly Lion, I can slip into fear mode in a nanosecond. When faced with the choice to either go down the path of panic or reach out in faith, often I choose the latter.

Jesus’ mother, Mary, certainly found herself at a crossroad with a choice to make. How easily she could have given into panic. . .

“Gabriel appeared to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!’ 

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 

(She must’ve been quivering in her sandals.)

‘Don’t be afraid, Mary,’ the angel told her, ‘for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” (Luke 1:28-33 NLT)

Oh dear.

Here was a young girl (mid-teens), recently engaged to the love of her life, and gets a visit from an angel (enough to freak anybody out) who delivers the worst possible news.

“Mary asked the angel, ‘But how can this happen? I am a virgin."

"The angel replied, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”  (Luke 1.34-35 NLT)

The implications of this dilemma surely had Mary in a tailspin:

• What would her parents say? Such shame and embarrassment for her family. . .
• And what about the local gossip-mongers?
• Oh, good grief. Joseph. Would he cast her aside? He could even have her stoned!
• Would everyone think her crazy?

She was faced with a choice:  Faith or fear.

“Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.’ And then the angel left her. (Luke 1.38  NLT)

Without hesitation, she chose to not give in to fear but stand on faith and believe God was WITH her.

We can learn much from a humble teenage girl.

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31.8 NLT)