Followed By Mercy

With Us, Still

W. Austin Gardner

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Austin Gardner:

If you grew up around church, you've heard the word Emmanuel a thousand times. He gets printed on Christmas cards, sung in hymns, hung on banners, spoken softly by candlelight. Emmanuel, God with us. But I wonder if you've ever stopped long enough to ask a harder question. What does that really mean when Christmas is over? Because it's one thing to believe God came, it's another thing to believe that God stayed. The verse says, Emmanuel, God with us. It's not just about a moment in Bethlehem, it's about the declaration of the heart of God. God with us. Not God near us, not God watching us, not God tolerating us from a distance, God with us. But if we're honest, many of us believe that that part of Christmas, but we struggle with it after Christmas. Because when the lights come down and the songs fade, life does not suddenly become easier. Bills still come, bodies still ache, relationships still strain, cancer scans still loom, loneliness still sits heavy in the room. And quietly, without meaning to, we start living like God showed up for a season and then step back. But Emmanuel does not mean God visited. It means God moved in. John puts it this way, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. John 1 14. That word dwell matters. It does not mean he passed through. He pitched his tent. No, he took up residence. He settled in. God did not come to make an appearance. He came to stay. Jesus did not borrow humanity for 33 years and then discard it. He took it unto himself forever. The Son of God still has a human body right now. Seated at the right hand of the Father, think about that. He did not shed our humanity after the resurrection. He carried it through the grave in the glory, which God did not just come near us, he bound himself to us forever. That changes everything. Because Emmanuel is not a Christmas idea, it's a lifelong reality. Means God is with you on an ordinary Tuesday when nothing feels spiritual. It means God's with you in the waiting room when your name hasn't been called yet. It means God's with you when your prayers feel unanswered and silence stretches long. Psalm 23 says, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Notice something important. David doesn't say the valley disappears. He says God is there. Emmanuel does not mean the valley goes away. It means you do not walk it alone. And that is where many believers quietly struggle. We believe God forgives us. We believe God saves us. We're not always sure he stays close when we're weak, confused, or worn out. We imagine God's strong when we're strong and dissent when we're not. But Christmas corrects that lie. Jesus entered our weakness on purpose. He entered dependency and hunger and exhaustion and misunderstanding. He was like a child. He grew and waxed strong and was filled with wisdom. Luke chapter 2. He grew, which means he learned to walk, he learned to speak, he learned obedience in real time. That's why Hebrews says, We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was at all points tempted, like as we are, yet without sin. He was touched by our weakness. The word touched means affected, moved, reached. Jesus does not sympathize from a distance. He knows from the inside. That is Emmanuel. God with us means God knows what it feels like to be human, not in theory, but in memory, because he stayed and he's still present today. Jesus said to his disciples, Lo, I'm with you always, even unto the end of the world. He did not say, I'll be with you when you get right. He did not say I'll be with you when your faith is strong. He said, Always, which means there's never a moment you're abandoned. Even when you feel like you're abandoned, when your prayers feel flat, when joy feels far away, Isaiah said, When you pass through the waters, I'll be with you. Though the rivers shall overflow you, I'll be with you. You still pass through waters, but you do not pass alone. And here's the part that may matter most to someone listening right now. God did not stay with us because we're faithful. He stayed with us because he is faithful. His presence is not fragile. It does not come and go based on your mood, performance, or understanding. Jesus did not come to stand beside perfect people. He came to dwell with broken ones. And if you're tired this Christmas, if you're grieving, if your body's failing you, if your faith feels thin, Emmanuel is not disappointed in you. He's with you right there, not waiting for you to improve, not backing away until you figure things out. He stayed and he is still here. Christmas tells us something simple and stubborn and beautiful. God is not done being with us. Not now, not later, not ever. And when everything feels uncertain, that truth does not move. God with us. It's not a slogan, it's a promise that he refuses to leave. So I want to take a few minutes just today to let you know he loves you, he's with you. Hang in there.