God With Us
By JM Humphrey
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is by interpretation, God with us. - The Gospel of Matthew Chapter 1 Verse 23
Our purpose in this little message is to introduce our reader more fully to God. One of the three great mistakes made by modern Christians is, they have too small a conception of the God they serve. They are so accustomed to small, limitable things, until it is quite difficult to get them to form any reasonable conception of the great God.
First, let us notice some of the titles He has introduced Himself to us by.
"Jehovah" (the self-existing God). (Genesis 17:1;) "Shaddai" (the Almighty). (Genesis 49:25;) "Alpha and Omega" (the beginning and the end).(Revelation 1:8;) "1 Am that I Am" (all you need, an unfilled check, an exhaustless supply.) ( Exodus 3:14;)
The next great mistake we make is, we look at circumstances before we look at God. Hence the dire circumstances sometimes so fill the horizon of our spiritual vision, until we fail to see God at all. For instance, if we are sick, we look at the disease rather than the Great Physician. ( Genesis 20:17; Psalm 30:12; Psalm 107:20; Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 4:24; Matthew 8:8,13, 16; Matthew 12:15,22;)We fail to remember that God is just as able to heal a cancer or a tumor as He is the headache. If David should have looked at circumstances, when he went to meet Goliath, he would have surely failed. But he kept looking at the Great God until the Giant was transformed into a grasshopper (so to speak).
Should the Hebrew boys have looked at circumstances they would have failed to get the fireproof experience, and to have seen the glorious form of the Son of God. (Daniel 3:20-29;) Should Daniel have looked at circumstances he would not have triumphed over the lion's den and stood forth to all succeeding generations as a monument of courage. (Daniel 6:16-22;) These men looked beyond the sword, the angry lions and leaping games, and saw angels, chariots and horses of fire. ( 2 Kings 6:16-17;)
Praise God!
Our third mistake is, we see God as a far-off God. We allow too much space to come between us and Him. We pray as if He was billions of miles away. But He has said, "Lo, I am with you alway," "I will never leave thee," "I will dwell in them." Oh, what a reproof to our unbelief! ( Matthew 28:20; John 14:18; 2 Chronicles 6:16; Revelation 21:3;)
We hear people sometimes make the following remarks: "Oh, the Lord was wonderfully with me today! Oh, I felt Him so near !" At other times we have heard them say (though equally as clean and holy): "The Lord was not with me to-day, for I have not felt any special uplift all day." They fail to realize that God is to be served by faith and not by feelings. Of course, if we serve Him properly, the feelings will come. However, feeling is not to be made our criterion. (a)
Let us notice a few ways God is to be appropriated.
1. He is to be trusted and relied upon, as we would a visible friend. Suppose you had a note due, and were short of the finance to meet it, you would no doubt go to your best friend and explain circumstances and ask for a loan of the needed amount. And if he should tell you to come on the day it was due and get the money, what a relief it would bring to you! O, how you would dismiss every atom of worry and uneasiness, and rely implicitly upon your friend! Well, this is just the way God wants you to rely upon and trust Him; and in doing so, you shall never be confounded. (Matthew 6:31-32;)
2. He is to be recognized as a God of details, i. e., a God that takes notice of the smallest thing concerning the welfare of His children. The enemy would make us think that He is only willing to assist us in the large burdens and sorrows of life, but does not care to be bothered with the smaller ones. But it is not true. He is just as willing to assist us in the smallest care as in the largest one, provided we commit them to Him by simple faith and prayer. (James 5:15-16;)
Again, people sometimes think that God does not realize the urgent need, and great responsibility connected with some matters which they take to Him in prayer; hence, in their impetuosity and blind zeal, they rush down to Egypt for help, and thus grieve God and bring leanness to their soul. ( Provers 3:5; Psalm 20:7;)
3. The next thing to be remembered is this: There is nothing in heaven, earth or hell that can molest a child of God, unless it first gets permission from Him. Therefore, we need not worry over the daily happenings, ill luck, etc. The devil, our greatest foe, could not even molest a herd of swine, without first getting permission from the great God. (b) And are we not more precious in His sight than they "O ye of little faith!" (Matthew 8:26; Acts 26:26; Romans 8:35-39;)
(a) Editor’s thought - God is ALWAYS with us, when we don’t feel His presence along side us it is usually because He is carrying us.
(b) Editor’s thought - We see this in The Book of Job Chapter 1 Verses 6-7 and Chapter 2 Verses 2-3
