Hello my lovelies, and welcome back to An Inquisitive Mind – Illumination through Christ.

Ok, let’s get into today’s message:

His name is called Emmanuel

May I ask what stands out to you with the below scripture?

Matthew 1:23 (NKJV) says “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, God with us.”

I am conscious that perhaps many of us (or maybe it was just me) may have associated this scripture with Christmas. Although, Emmanuel is a name that holds true for us in the everyday and in every situation not just for a season.

With the understanding that ‘Emmanuel’ and/or ‘Immanuel‘ means God with us we can be assured that everywhere we go, we are never truly alone.

He goes before us

In Proverbs 16:9, it explains that although we make up our own plans it is the Lord that ‘chooses’, ‘decides’ and ‘orders’ our steps. This is then a comforting reminder that there is no where that we can go to that He does not see us , as we journey along this life He with us too.

With this knowledge, in Isaiah 8:9–10 we can see how confident Prophet Isaiah was that the plans of the enemy would fail because he knew God was with him.

We are called to have this same confidence, that as God goes before us victory is ours in every season and circumstance.

He is our Comforter

The Lord is our comforter (Matthew 5:4) and also our burden bearer (Matthew 11:28). Whether we are dealing with feelings of abandonment, brokenness and/or ‘lies’ the enemy is trying to bring to surface… the great news is that the Lord will meet us where we are at (Genesis 21:17-18).

This means we can let go of everything we are holding onto and enter into His presence. Through doing so we can receive from Him because He will give us the language and the strength where there is weakness and also clarity where there is confusion.

He is Elroi, the God who sees us (Genesis 16:13).

He protects us

We need not fear the things going on around us because safety can be found in Him via His word and presence; our Father, Son and the Holy Spirit (Psalm 23:4, Psalm 34:4, Psalm 91:4, Psalm 121:1–2).

As we call onto God and stand on His Word this then causes fear to lose its power and every challenge becomes smaller than it once seemed (Psalm 27:1).

Where we may be lacking in wisdom we can ask Him to lead us along the way.

He will give unto us just what we need – when we need it (James 1:5 – ICB).

His Promise to us

The Lord has promised in His word to never to leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8) as highlighted in: Hide or Seek? we have the choice to continually run to Him instead of away.

For He is God with us, He goes before us, guides us and comforts us.

Prayer

My prayer is that we will continue to trust in God and not fall away from the faith. May we always lean on Him for direction and guidance remembering He is forever God with us x