Immanuel. It means God With Us. All the time. Regardless. No matter what.

God is with you when you’re living right and have amazing times of intimacy with God, and God is with you when you couldn’t possibly screw things up more than you have and God seems a million miles away.

God is with you when every cell in your body is on fire with passion for Him, and God is with you when you feel colder than a midnight in December in the deepest part of winter.

God is with you when you’re raising your hands in praise and thanksgiving for blessings, and God is with you when you raise your hands to wipe away tears that just won’t stop from a heart that’s breaking and a life that’s crashing down around you.

God is with you when He gives, and God is with you when He takes away.

God is with you when you’re running with arms wide open into your Abba’s embrace, and God is with you when you’re running like Jonah as far away from God as you can get.

God is with you when you feel Him, and God is with you when you feel nothing.

God is with you through victory and overcoming, and God is with you in the addiction that won’t quit or let go that you just fell back into for the hundreth time after promising yet again you wouldn’t.

Immanuel. God is with you forever. God will never leave you or forsake you. He will never cease to be as faithful as the morning sunrise or true as His own promises.

He’s not waiting for you to get your act together or quit sinning or improve yourself. He’s not holding out on you until you get cleaned up and get your house in order to come visit. He’s with you now, where you are and just as you are. Not leaving you that way, for God with us is also God for us and God in us, changing us forever.

God, of all your names, I love the name Immanuel best, for it means you are always with me. I love it because I need it most. I need you most.

Amen.