Matthew 1:23 NASB
[23] “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel ,” which translated means, “God with us.”
God is not a reclusive God who is so offended with our falleness that He lives hiding His face from humanity’s darkness. The incarnation reveals His unrelenting, and seemingly reckless desire to be with us. Not only did He not keep His distance, He dove into our brokenness head first and clothed Himself with our hideous residue of the Fall, to reconcile us to God, and redeem His eternal dream that hidden in Christ we would forever dwell deep in the bosom of the Father, experiencing all that God is and has. John 1:18.
The Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us is the truth about God. His very name, Immanuel, says all we need to know about how He feels about us.
In terms of our practical everyday Christian lives, never believe the lie from the enemy that God is so disappointed with you that He wants to keep you at a distance. Maybe you have drifted away and am convinced there is no way back because God has turned away from you, disgusted with your life. Listen, He has already proven that our darkness doesn’t drive Him
to a place of remote disgust. When we were lost He plunged into our darkness so that from the inside out Light could shine out of the darkness of our broken frailty. If that is who He was then you need to know that is who He still is. He hasn’t abandoned you. He went with into the wasteland, not approving of you behavior, but immersed in you, unwilling to leave you for His dream for you is intact and His way of rescuing you is from the inside out. He always works that way.
Psalm 139:7-12 NASB
[7] Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? [8] If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. [9] If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, [10] Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. [11] If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” [12] Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
IMMANUEL- “God WITH us!!!”