What a year 2021 has been. As a new year is upon us, many of us wonder, will 2022 be different? Will things get back to normal? And what will “normal” look like? Even with all the questions we have, regardless of the circumstances surrounding us today, God is with us.
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
When Jesus first arrived on earth during the first Christmas, the Word became flesh and made His home among us. When God speaks, His Word creates that reality. Jesus is the incarnation of God, also the incarnation of God’s promise that He is with us.
Jesus is among us. He’s not far off. He has come near. He came near in the flesh. He came near through the gift of the Spirit. We get His insight through His Word. We experience His goodness through His presence in our lives. God is with us in our weakness, in our trouble, in our grief, in our joy, in all that life brings.
Now that we are welcoming a new year, let us look back at the I AM statements of Jesus that signify He is with us in many ways. In 2021, we learned as a church many characteristics of our Lord that made us realize our need for Him. He is our all in all. He is our everything. Whatever we need, He provides for us at just the right time and in just the right way.
