Psalm 37:1-11

"Fret not thyself because of evildoers,
neither be thou envious against
the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
and wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so shalt thou dwell in the land,
and verily thou shalt be fed.
Delight thyself also in the Lord;
and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart.

Commit thy way unto the Lord;
trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth
thy righteousness as the light,
and thy judgment as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:
fret not thyself because of him
who prospereth in his way,
because of the man
who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath:
fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
For evil doers shall be cut off:
but those that wait upon the Lord,
they shall inherit the earth.

For yet a little while,
and the wicked shall not be: 
yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place,
and it shall not be.

But the meek shall inherit the earth;
and shall delight themselves
in the abundance of peace.

God With Us

The names of God have fascinated me for a long time. They speak to me of how personal he truly is and remind me that he is all I really need. At this time of year my favorite is Emmanuel, God with us. It seems so incomprehensible to me.

God

The Creator who spoke...spoke...everything into being. The Almighty God who sent the flood to destroy all life in the world. The Great Deliverer who brought his people out of Egypt. Jehovah-Jireh, the Provider. El Olam, the Everlasting God. He says in Isaiah 45:6b-7, "I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." Yet this same perfect God was lying helpless in a manger? The Creator becoming like the created? How can it be that God himself was here with us!?

with

The invisible God was now visible with a body like ours. He grew tired, was hungry and thirsty; surely he scraped a knee or smashed his thumb during his time on earth. He was temped as we are; he knew what it is like for us because he was with us. Isaiah and Hebrews tell us, "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points temped like as we are, yet without sin."

This great God came not as an angel of light or as some mighty man but as a helpless babe. Why? To be with us. To save us. Because somehow by becoming like us he is able to make us like himself. I am being made righteous because he is righteous. I am being purified because he is pure. By being with us he did for us what we couldn't do for ourselves. God made a way for us to be with him.

us

It used to be different when God first made the world. We could fellowship and walk with God and he with us. But all that changed when Adam and Eve chose to eat the fruit of the tree and disobey God. Their sin spread to their children, and their grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Separated from God physically and spiritually we were helpless to save ourselves. So God came to us. "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:6) The baby in the manger would grow up to die on a cross not for sins of his own but the sins of the world. To save guilty sinners by his own blood. 

Christ could not have become the Savior if He had first not come and dwelt with us. A God who had never been temped could not help me in mine. He became the Savior, the Lamb of God, the Risen Lord because he was first Emmanuel, God with us. 

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child,

and shall bring forth a son,

and they shall call his name Emmanuel,

which being interpreted is,

God with us."

Matthew 1:23