The Gift of His Presence

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
—Matthew 1:23 (NIV)

For four hundred years, heaven was silent. There were no prophetic words, no visions—only waiting. God’s people longed for a messenger, someone who would speak on His behalf as He had done in generations past. Yet the silence remained.

Perhaps in that long stillness, God was giving His people an unexpected gift: the experience of His absence. A silence that would prepare their hearts to fully recognize and cherish the gift of His presence when it finally came in the person of Jesus. After all, how could the people accuse God of withdrawing when they themselves had pushed Him away time and time again?

And yet, true to His faithful nature, God never abandoned those He had called His own. In the fullness of time, He sent His Son—Immanuel, God with us. Not a distant voice, not a temporary messenger, but His very presence among humanity.

When you have gone long enough without the presence of someone you love, you learn to treasure it more deeply when it returns. No wonder all of heaven erupted in song and the earth rejoiced at His birth. In Jesus, God stepped into our silence, our waiting, and our brokenness.

For without God in our lives, we are without hope and without peace. But with Immanuel—God with us—we are never alone again.