When You Have this, You Win Every Time
When You Have this, You Win Every Time
Matthew 1:23 (NLT)
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuela which means ‘God is with us.’”
The above scripture is a very familiar one. When we think of the name Immanuel most believers immediately think of the meaning of the name “God with us.” But what are the implications of God being with us? For some it is a sense of peace in time of trouble, for others it may be a continual sense of His presence, in good times and bad. While both are true, is there something more that we can focus our faith on especially when going through a challenge.
The Old Testament gives a clear picture of what “God with us” meant.
- Jeremiah 1:19 (NKJV) 19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the LORD, “to deliver you.”
- Deuteronomy 20:3-4 (MSG)20 1-4 When you go to war against your enemy and see horses and chariots and soldiers far outnumbering you, do not recoil in fear of them; GOD, your God, who brought you up out of Egypt is with you. When the battle is about to begin, let the priest come forward and speak to the troops. He’ll say, “Attention, Israel. In a few minutes you’re going to do battle with your enemies. Don’t waver in resolve. Don’t fear. Don’t hesitate. Don’t panic. GOD, your God, is right there with you, fighting with you against your enemies, fighting to win.”
- Isaiah 8:10 (GNT) 10 Make your plans! But they will never succeed. Talk all you want to! But it is all useless, because God is with us.
- Zephaniah 3:15 (ERV)15 The LORD stopped your punishment. He destroyed your enemies’ strong towers. King of Israel, the LORD is with you. You don’t need to worry about anything bad happening.
No matter what the extent of the battle facing Israel, when God was with them they won. (Granted, God was not always involved because of their disobedience) In the New Testament Jesus’ name means Savior, but because He was God in the flesh, He was also called Immanuel. “God with us” is no longer contingent on whether we are obedient or not. Jesus was obedient for the disobedience of our carnal nature on the Cross. Our responsibility is to believe and be led by Holy Spirit (which is New Testament obedience) in what He tells us to do or not to do. Whether it is in the area of health, finances or relationships, we can expect to come out victorious because the name of Jesus (Immanuel) is our guarantee of victory. Just as God’s presence in the Old Testament guaranteed victory every time, Jesus’ presence in our lives guarantees victory every time.
Remember, Immanuel does not mean “God with us on our best day, but not with us on our worst day”. Immanuel is “God with us” – period! As we meditate and receive greater revelation of this Biblical Truth we will come to expect to prevail against any and all challenges we are facing.
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