Withness is a Thing

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14 esv

Immanuel means God with us. For sure, Immanuel is the name of God most associated with Christmas. However, in a fresh way I’m discovering that withness is God’s character. His desire is to be with His creation. Can you imagine? He desires to be with you!

What’s happening in your life right now? Is it good or bad? Fun or monotonous? Are you feeling stuck or free? Rejoicing or grieving? God is with you in the middle of it… He’s simply waiting for you to look up. 

His withness is stunning, amazing, life giving, helpful, healing, exciting, a gift, and sometimes intimidating until you realize that He is the one who pursues you. He does the pursuing even when we think we’re looking for Him. He wants to be with you. He sought you out and He continues to seek you out. He loved you first. He has the answers. He knows the way. He will teach you. He will hold you by the hand. He calls you, “mine”. He wants to adopt you into His family. He wants to carry you through and set your feet on a firm foundation.

Withness, how do we know?

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Matthew 1:22-23 NIV

God foretold of His plan to come down and rescue His people through the prophet Isaiah, and then approximately 700 hundred years passed into history before God fulfilled His plan through Jesus, the son born to the virgin Mary. The son’s prophesied name, Immanuel, tells us that God wants to be alongside us through whatever circumstances we face, and that He is even willing to leave His Majesty in heaven to come down to us, to look like us, and to live like us except perfectly without sin. He was intentional about being God with us in order to personally show us the way to God and to be our perfect example of how to live as an image-bearer of God, our Creator.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:1-5 esv

Reading the Bible chronologically this year with Tara-Leigh Cobble, and her format, The Bible Recap, has only strengthened and emboldened my desire to learn the connections between the Old and New Testaments. I have understood and accepted for many years that the Bible is one continuous story of mankind from Creator God’s perspective. I have long seen the Bible as God’s love letter to me. Thus, my long and winding journey of faith has involved a passionate pursuit of both prayer and reading the breathed-out words of God so that I might become more intimately acquainted with my Maker. So, maybe this would be a good place on this adventure to take a brief step back into history.

It’s important to know what was happening in the days when Isaiah the prophet served the Lord and authored this book of the Bible. Israel had once again become a captive people. This time the people of Israel were exiled to Babylon. It was a season of severe oppression. And for those who escaped and remained in Israel, it was a time of severe famine. The Northern and Southern Kingdoms were deposed, rulers and officials were imprisoned or slaughtered, families were separated, and living conditions were squalid. In the midst of great despair, God gave a message of hope through His servant Isaiah. The Messiah, Immanuel, is coming. God communicated with His people. He sent a preview of His rescue plan and asked Isaiah to pass along this truth to anyone who would listen. The fact that the people of Isaiah’s time were not listening does not negate the truth that God had not forgotten His people, and they had not been abandoned.

Withness, how can this be?

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Genesis 1:26 esv

It is simply because God created each and every one of us as a masterpiece, designed in His own image, to do the things of life, which He determined for us before the foundation of the earth. God doesn’t need us. He desires us. He desires community with us. Communion. He wants us to participate with Him to accomplish His plans to make Himself famous in the earth. He desires our participation. He seeks relationship with each and every one of us, who will talk with Him and listen to Him. He doesn’t want us to miss out, because relationship with our Creator was His idea from before the foundation of the Earth. And to help us in the process of building a relationship with Him, God has given us His Word. His word as in Jesus, the Son of God, who was born in the flesh. His written word, which is His love letter to each of us, and meant to unveil His great love and desire to be with us.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 esv

This reminds me of our granddaughter, Rebecca, who loves to help. She wants to cook, sweep, vacuum, and now she helps with her baby brother, John. Our daughter-in-law, Cari, is an amazing momma, who does not need the help of a 2-year-old to make pancakes. And yet, it thrills her heart to have Rebecca want to spend this time in the kitchen with her. I’ve been a witness – Rebecca watches her momma and then tries to emulate what she’s seen and heard. She’s a sponge, soaking up information, and the beauty of watching her learn is that this is all done in relationship. For our precious grandchildren, this is happening in freedom and loving relationship. Both Rebecca and John know that their momma and daddy desire to be with them. Parents should want to be with their children as they learn so as to guide and direct them because their children are little image bearers of God.

Withness, why is this good news?

I’m reminded of our youngest son, Taylor. He was so curious, adventurous and always into something from the time he was born. I thought all babies slept for hours, but not this one. He was a catnapper. He has an older brother, and so Taylor carried an amazing amount of FOMO for a baby. He watched his brother constantly. And once he could scoot, crawl and walk he followed his brother everywhere, attempting to keep up and out-do in a spirit of competition only brothers can understand.

As a young boy, Taylor was fascinated with electronics. He learned by the time he was 5 years old to utilize a screwdriver. On any given day, I would walk through the house and find a TV remote disassembled on the coffee table. On another day perhaps the garage door opener was left “undone” on the kitchen counter. Over time, I believe a good number of electronics, including clock radios, watches, and cameras fell victim to our young and curious son.

 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 esv

As a mother, it was a bit concerning, although I knew it was truly his curiosity that was inspiring him to take things apart. And yet, I felt compelled to require him to re-assemble the electronics. On each occasion, I called him to task and asked that he put the pieces back together. His response was similar each time, “I don’t know how to put it back together. I just wanted to see how it came apart and what was on the inside.” Usually, I could figure out a way to put the pieces back together, and sometimes he worked at it with me. Other times, the pieces went into the trash, and we wrote it off as a learning experience.

Here’s the thing: I could see by the way our son was uniquely wired that he would most likely grow up to work with his hands. God designed this young man in a unique way with an intelligent mind and nimble fingers. So, now that Taylor is an adult who safely and successfully dismantles explosives as his career of choice, I’m not really surprised. I am, however, extremely grateful for God’s withness. Even more so, I praise God for the way He has helped me to understand the way He intentionally and intricately designs each person. We are His masterpiece created purposefully with a purpose to complete the work God designed for us to do.

Withness, how does this apply to your every day life?

More profoundly, Jesus, who was and is and is to come, the true Son of God who came in the flesh and dwelt among us, who also gave His life as a ransom for the salvation of all who will place their trust in Him – this same Jesus is the one and only God-man who is uniquely qualified to be the perfect, unblemished sacrifice necessary to reverse the curse of sin and death, which came to pass when Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden. Jesus, the Christ, Immanuel, who God sent to be with us, and rescue us, and eventually one day bring us home; He wants to be with you. He knows you. He wants you to know Him. He wants you to desire His withness because this is His character.

Immanuel… God is with us. Withness is a thing.

So, what do you say to this extravagant invitation?

Eyes on Jesus and Shine,

Lisa

Something to ponder with Jesus:

Imagine receiving an extravagantly ornate invitation in the mail. Better yet, imagine a courier standing at your front door, the invitation hand delivered, and containing a wax seal marked with the signet ring of the King.

The invitation is personal. It bears your name. It’s an invitation to join this King of Kings personally on a journey. He wants you to join Him. What will you say?

Would you in your own way right now receive the truth that Jesus has always loved you first?

Would you in your own words express to Jesus what it means to you that He wants to be with you always?

Let the journey begin…

Maybe grab a notebook or find a journal or perhaps an electronic device is your preference, but simply begin writing to Jesus your response to the love letter He left for you. And perhaps write to Him your prayers, hopes, dreams, regrets and sorrows. Let Him lead. You follow. And live expectantly for where this faith adventure will take you… Enjoy His withness and know that you will never really be alone again.

Shalom. Shalom.

If you are interested in reading the Bible chronologically with a whole bunch of other people, click on the link for The Bible Recap and get started today. TLC (Tara-Leigh Cobble) will walk you all the way through, and don’t worry about starting in March… just get started. God’s withness will be right alongside.