God With Us
Not too long ago I was riding my bike down a lonely country road. Normally I would be enjoying the crisp morning air, the beautiful scenery, and moments of prayer and reflection. But this day I was struggling to turn the pedals, trying to find the willpower to keep pressing forward, feeling kind of alone in my misery. At least I thought I was all alone, but then out of nowhere I felt the presence of a car looming behind me. Normally people zoom past or stay pretty far back, but this person kept inching closer and closer, eventually coming alongside me. Their window was down, and I thought, “Oh no, they’re going to yell at me for getting in the way and making them slow down.” I tried pedaling faster but the body wasn’t responding. So I waited for the verbal barrage to come, and as I glanced over at the woman, seeing her take in full lungs of air to yell her loudest, I heard an energetic, “KEEP GOING!!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!”
I love it when the unexpected happens. Here I was feeling alone and wary, assuming the worst, but I wasn’t alone and a great surprise of encouragement was coming. It’s too easy to focus on our feelings and circumstances when challenges come, but it’s the time of year when we often repeat a powerful name: Immanuel, which means “God with us.” He is with us, even when it doesn’t seem so. He is there.
This past Sunday Colby preached from I Peter 4:1, reminding us that when we feel alone in our suffering, we can “arm” ourselves. He gave three ways to be armed, and the one that hit me was to “arm yourself with the hope of resurrection.” We can fill our hearts with hope when we actively look forward to being in the physical presence of God. He is with us now, and yet there is a day when that will be fully realized, a day we look forward to with Joy and Hope. It’s the act of looking forward that can bring hope to your circumstances today. Arm yourselves with this hope this Christmas as we proclaim Immanuel all over the South End of Louisville!