God is with us through difficult times
One of my favorite Christmas hymns is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel." The name Emmanuel literally means God is with us. I was reminded of this meaning as we entered the season of Lent. The first Sunday in Lent focused on Jesus’ experience in the wilderness after his baptism. Jesus spent 40 days without food and water. This story is also called the temptation of Jesus, because Jesus was tempted by Satan in this wilderness.
We have all gone through some difficulties in life that seem isolating, and we feel alone in our pain. Most of us, through shame and guilt, never let others know when we are traversing a wilderness. We suffer in silence, mentally marooned on an island. Medical diagnoses, financial woes, and marital issues all feel like roads we travel by ourselves.
What is poignant to me is the reality that God is present with us in the midst of our wilderness experiences. Jesus wasn’t alone with Satan, because God was with Jesus. This becomes our solace through our trials and temptations. God is really with us all the time. No matter where we are in this world, or how scared we may be, we are never separated from God.
We sing a Christmas song, but that song is our strength in those times in which we may feel alone. That song becomes our strength when it feels like all hope is lost. That song becomes our strength when we are stuck in our own wilderness. That song becomes our strength when we are weak and vulnerable. That song becomes our strength when the world has abandoned us.
We praised God when he gave us Jesus as a baby. We praise God now as we prepare to celebrate Jesus giving us the Holy Spirit as a parting gift. That same Holy Spirit is God with us, living and creating within us. That Holy Spirit becomes our companion, instructor, and guide for the every easy and hard paths we travel. Our own 40 days through Lent is a time of listening to the God that is truly always with us. So that we are empowered and emboldened to be all that God commands us to be.
Catrina Hawkins-Bowles is the Reverend at Christ’s Lutheran Church
LINK: https://www.daily-jeff.com/story/news/local/2023/03/03/god-is-with-us-through-difficult-times/69954838007/
THE DAILY JEFF
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