Christmas Devotionals For FamiliesSample

Emmanuel, God With Us

"O come, o come, Emmanuel..."

The nation of Israel was hungrily looking for the coming of their Savior, for that would signal their rescue, the arrival of their redeemer.  Generation after generation had passed since the Messiah had first been prophesied. As sons grew up to be fathers and into grandfathers, but no sign appeared of the promised one, how their anticipation must have been growing. Aging eyes eagerly hunting for any signs...

"O come, o come..."

Those simple, pleading lyrics of one of my favorite Christmas carols struck a deeper note with me this year, for it echoes longings we can still identify with today. Awaiting. Expecting. Hoping.

In our chapter of the story, Jesus has indeed come, but we wait for his second final coming. We too anticipate meeting our Savior face to face. On a simpler, daily level, we are all awaiting events and seasons of life it seems, maybe even waiting on something God has promised.

May you take heart anew this Christmas season that waiting is not bad. As Christians, we don't wait alone. The One we look to is indeed present with us now.

"O come, o come Emmanuel..." Emmanuel, the God who is with us; or more precisely "The With Us God." I don't know about you, but I need a "With Us God." This name...the intimacy and love it conveys...it overwhelms me. Emmanuel is not a far-off thought.

He is with us, cares for us and desires to have a relationship with us. He has come, and He will come again.