IMMANUEL, GOD WITH US

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Matthew 1:23

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’

Around the holidays our awareness of this Immanuel, this GOD with us, is heightened isn’t it?

Manger scenes, Christmas carols piped all over, drive thru nativities and Bethlehem recreations. Familiar refrains like “Christ the Savior is born” and “the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head” echo in our hearts and spirits.

When Christmas rolls around it is easy to feel “GOD with us”.

But I wanted to share a little something about “GOD being most definitely with me and my wife” that happened just yesterday.

A series of miscommunications and misunderstandings left my wife and me in a bit of crisis; a small financial crisis. I was doing ministry things with our account and she was doing “Christmas” things with our account and neither of us was telling the other what we were doing until the account decided to tell us to stop.

How did the account tell us to stop you ask?

The account stopped us because the account was empty. That is right. Empty. Bone dry. Not even a penny.

In the past this would have been a sure argument starter that would have exploded into a full on circular stand-off complete with misguided accusation, blame and an angry exchange. But yesterday was a little different.

My wife and I have made a commitment to one another and to GOD to longer panic when the crisis comes.

Rather we have resolved to pause, pray, and TRUST THE TRUTH.

We have had to!

For over the last 18 months or so, life has dealt challenges like cancer and suicide consideration with our children, the pressure of two full time ministries and a completely new career path for Beth; not to mention the countless other challenges for dear friends.

We have begun to learn we don’t have time for panic for it gets in the way of prayer and the truth.

Truth like:

Philippians 4:19

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6

…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

So instead of panicking, we prayed.

So while looking on-line at the $0.00 on the little bank statement confirming our collective mistake, I just prayed and told myself, “GOD has got this” and went about seeking Him for the answer.

For the sake of brevity, I will cut to the chase of what happened next.

About 20 minutes after that prayer, my wife arrived home. And as we were preparing and brainstorming ways to fix the problem, Beth was opening a few letters and cards from the mail.

In that mail was a letter from some dear family friends whom Beth had been serving for quite some time. Many of you know Beth is a nurse (a great nurse, but I am a little bias) and she had been nursing and caring for a member of this family through a very challenging and difficult time. The letter was a letter of thanks for all of her compassion, guidance and love. But that wasn’t all.

With the letter was a check.

And when I say it was a check, it was a CHECK.

Suffice it to say, the crisis was averted.

The potential marital strife shelved, our need had been met and we were now able continue to bless others!

GOD WAS MOST CERTAINLY WITH US.

Then more TRUTH starting to spill into my brain. Truth like:

2 Corinthians 9:8

God is ready to overwhelm you with more blessings than you could ever imagine so that you’ll always be taken care of in every way and you’ll have more than enough to share.

Ephesians 3:20

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

1 Peter 1:7

These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor…

Luke 6:38

…Whatever measure you use to give—large or small—will be used to measure what is given back to you.”

It was a remarkable “GOD with us” moment right there at the kitchen island and I needed to share it today with you.

I share it to encourage you as it has encouraged me!

I share it to chronicle the amazing generosity of a family of dear friends and give well-deserved honor to them!

I share it to give GLORY to GOD; for being true to His word and giving us a most astonishing and remarkable Christmas miracle!

But most importantly, I share this story to remind all of us of the truth of this season; that Immanuel is truly with us and HE CAN BE TRUSTED!

Psalm 37:5

Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it, and he will.

Will you trust Him today with your crisis? I believe your miracle may be next!

I love you all!

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney