God With Us

“Immanuel” - a Hebrew word meaning “God with us”.

How often do we think of this phrase?

Most likely, we think of “God with us” more at Christmas than any other time of the year. There are several Christmas songs with the word “Immanuel” in them. But, what does this word really mean for us as Christians?

In Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah announced God's prophecy to send a son to his people, and they “shall call his name Immanuel”. Immanuel comes from the Hebrew word “Immanuwel”, which means “God with us”. It is derived from two Hebrew words - “im” meaning with, in conjunction with, in, beside, for all, more than; and “el” meaning strength, mighty God, great, mighty one, power, strong.

Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, He dwells in us. He has been with us since creation, the beginning  For example:

1. God was in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve
2. God was in the Ark of the covenant moving with His people
3. God was in the burning bush while talking to Moses
4. God was in the cloud leading the Israelites through the wilderness
5. God was the gardener at the tomb when Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of
James, came looking for Jesus’ body
6. God was in that other body on the road to Emmaus when walking with two of the
disciples

What better examples than these to show that God wants and desires to be with us. He has had many ways to be with us since the beginning. This is how we develop a relationship with Him – by spending time with Him wherever we are because where we are, He is also.

When Jesus died on the cross, he moved back into spirit, which allowed him to be able to dwell in each of us. He had to leave his physical body in order to be with each of us. He could only be in one location at a time while in his physical body, but now He can dwell in each of us in spirit. Let us rejoice in our Saviour, Immanuel (God with us)!

- Rachel West