Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
John 14:15-18 If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever -- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Revelation 21:3-5 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
Sometimes Bible verses just seem to leap off the page and into your heart and mind. Years ago, earlier in my journey with the LORD, I remember coming across a verse in Leviticus. It talked about God living and walking among us. Oh, I really liked this verse! It gave me a sense of peace. I quickly wrote it down on a little post-it note and carried it around in my car for a long time. The verse didn't say God was high above us, looking down upon His creation with minimal involvement. No, it didn't say that at all. It said He walks and lives among us. I found this verse at time in my journey when I was unsure of His level of involvement in our lives. Yes, I knew God was involved, but how much? Did He only get involved in the really big things of life? Did God hear all our prayers?
Immanuel... God with us. As I read and studied the Bible and grew in my knowledge and in my relationship with Him, I saw that this was indeed a consistent promise from God throughout the Old and New Testaments. And I learned...
Yes! Without a doubt, God is involved in our lives and He is with us. Our Heavenly Father is involved in the big things and the little things. Psalm 139 clearly tells us He knows us completely. Right down to the details of our thoughts and even our movements before we make them. We are told He is behind and before us, hemming us in. Yes, yes, yes, He is with us! He is our God, and we are His people. And Jesus is our Savior... and the Holy Spirit is our wonderful Counselor. Father, Son and Holy Spirit... dwelling among us.
In my last post, I encouraged you to open the door and invite God in. But don't just crack open the door a little bit, peeking around the corner, only letting just a hint of His Glory into your life. I encourage you to throw open the door, and wholeheartedly invite Him in! Jesus told us in Matthew 22:37 that this is the first and greatest commandment: "Love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind." When you throw open the door to Him, loving Him with all your heart, soul and mind, the LORD will truly transform your life. You will know He walks with you. You will know He dwells with You. You will know His loving Presence.
Yes, God is with us! Beautiful words!
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