God with Us

Christmas is my favorite time of year. I thoroughly enjoy the decorations, music, gift-giving (and receiving!), and family traditions. I especially appreciate the focus on celebrating Jesus’ birth. During Advent and Christmas Day, Christians typically center on the immediate events leading to and surrounding Immanuel, God with us. We should celebrate and enjoy this wonderful day in history. [1] This year, instead of writing about the splendor of Jesus’ birth, I want to consider how God is with us today.

When we believe and receive Jesus, a miracle occurs. We are changed by being born from above by the Holy Spirit,[2] and we are sealed with him as a pledge or guarantee of our inheritance in Christ.[3] The Spirit dwells in us and gives life to our mortal bodies.[4] These facts are fantastic, but how do they affect our everyday lives? How do we experience the Spirit’s presence? These are essential questions worthy of our consideration. We can encourage each other to wrestle with them as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.[5] In the paragraphs ahead, I will share examples of how I perceive the Spirit in my life. I will provide biblical perspectives of God with us and examples from the New Testament.

First, I believe the Holy Spirit is in me and with me because God promises it in the Scriptures. That said, I do not feel his presence during most of my waking hours. I don’t fret over that because I sometimes perceive his guidance and reassurance through thoughts and inklings. These typically come after times of prayer, asking for specific insight or wisdom. In addition, I have had experiences that I believe come from his care and presence with me throughout my life. I have shared some of these encounters in past articles.[6] I also attribute a more recent experience to the Spirit’s presence in my life.

I am considering returning to seminary. I have done research and prayed about this decision. I previously started a program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School but had to postpone my studies for various life reasons. I came across another school that may better fit my current circumstances but found some information that gave me some concerns. Then I had an interesting occurrence.

I was doing errands and looking for a short podcast to fill my drive time. I came across one of my regulars, and the teacher said he was returning to seminary and wanted to explain which one and why he chose it. You can probably guess where this is going. It is the same seminary I am contemplating.

Is this incident a coincidence or a divine intervention? I don’t believe it is God’s way of telling me I must now go to this school. However, the podcaster answered some of my questions and gave me more confidence in the school. I don’t attribute every little thing that happens around or to me to God’s Spirit, but I know God is mysterious and active in my life. So, I believe some circumstances are oriented by God rather than random coincidence.

This story is one small example of how I believe God is active in our lives. It may not seem very serious when so many more important things are happening in the world. But it shows the personal nature of God’s presence with us. There are other, perhaps more significant, ways that Scripture explains our connection to God in addition to those mentioned above.

I often need to remind myself that Jesus is alive. He is seated beside Father God, and we are seated with him.[7] I’m not entirely sure how to think about that idea. However, the statement that I am seated with him while physically being here on earth is perplexing. Perhaps our presence with Jesus explains his promise that wherever he is, we will also be.[8] It is the power of the promise such that it is factual now. We exist in the place where Christ is because we are in him, and he is in us.[9] While being with Jesus may be difficult to sense, it is a reality we can take on faith. However, another aspect of the Spirit’s activity in our lives is a little easier to understand.

The apostle Paul tells us we don’t always know how to pray, but the Spirit knows and intercedes for us according to the will of God.[10] We don’t need to know exactly how this works to have confidence that the Holy Spirit is helping us. I often think of this promise when I pray. There are many times I don’t know what I should be praying for, let alone how to express it. We can be confident that the Holy Spirit knows our hearts and intercedes on our behalf.

While we have the Spirit of God, Scripture is clear that we are not God’s puppets. He has given us agency in the world, meaning that we can make decisions and act of our own accord. After all, God created humans to rule over the earth on his behalf. He offers to be with us along the way, but he doesn’t micromanage us. We see an example in the apostle Paul’s life.

Paul often mentioned his plans to go somewhere or send someone to a particular church. He decided to go to Jerusalem even though people warned him that trouble awaited him. He was confident in God’s purpose for him and made decisions that aligned with his calling. However, the Spirit did sometimes intervene in his plans. The writer of Acts explained the Spirit prevented Paul from preaching in the provinces of Asia and Bithynia.[11]

Like Paul, we can make plans and efforts toward accomplishing them. When we trust God and seek his help, we can be confident that he will direct us if we get off track or if he has something else for us. However, if we go our way without thinking about what is right or acknowledging him, he will often let us go and suffer the consequences of our behavior. I know. I experienced it. However, looking back over my life, I see God never left me when I stopped trusting him. Remarkably, I also see how he protected me from the severest outcomes that could have resulted from my straying. Again, we see an example in the apostle Paul.

Paul was persecuting Jesus by abusing the church. Jesus confronted him directly and allowed him to turn around.[12] Paul said he acted in ignorance, and God had mercy on him. Paul thought he was serving God, but Jesus corrected him. God could have punished Paul, but Jesus called him for a purpose instead. Throughout the rest of his life, Paul experienced the Spirit's presence even amid immense suffering.

Understandably, when we go astray, we may reap the penalty of our behavior. Sometimes, God has mercy on us. But what about the hardship we face that is no consequence of our own? What about the circumstances that hurt and oppress us? It can seem that God is far from us during these times. I don’t want to try to minimize people’s suffering with just words, but I want us to know that one of the beautiful aspects of God with us is that we also have each other.

The Holy Spirit binds us as brothers and sisters. [13] We are the body of Christ, and we use our hands and feet to help each other through bad times and to celebrate the good. [14] We can love and encourage one another and provide for each other’s needs. We are to do good to everyone but especially to our family in Christ.[15]

As we look at the lights and decorations, it is easy to forget that Jesus came during dark times for Israel. His people, Israel, were oppressed by a foreign power. God had been silent for four hundred years, and his chosen people cried for a savior. Also, the whole world was under the powers of sin and death, as it still is today. This year, the horrors of evil and destruction are especially graphic. Many people are suffering in Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza. Some believe God is silent or uncaring. But we who are in Christ know differently.

Jesus came as a baby, lived a short, perfect life, died for our sins, and was raised from the dead to bring us new life. Now, he is seated next to Father God, waiting for the right time to return to complete his renewal of all creation. In the meantime, we who have the Holy Spirit are agents of love and peace, first to each other and then to the world.

So, this year, as we remember the birth of our Savior and celebrate the good news that God came to us, let’s not forget that he is still with us. Jesus prayed this for us shortly before his death and resurrection:

I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one—I in them and you in me—that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me.[16]

Merry Christmas!

O come Immanuel!

[1] On December 12, 2022, I shared the biblical story titled The First Christmas. You can still view that post and share the story with friends and family.
[2] John 1:9–13, 3:1–8
[3] Ephesians 1:11–14
[4] Romans 8:9–11
[5] Philippians 2:12–13
[6] For example, see Walk in the Spirit and Our Identity in Christ Part 2 My Identity Crisis
[7] Ephesians 2:4–7
[8] John 17:24
[9] John 17:20–23
[10] Romans 8:26-27
[11] Acts 16:6–7
[12] Acts 9, see also 1 Timothy 1:12–17
[13] Mark 3:31–35
[14] Romans 12:15
[15] Galatians 6:10
[16] John 17:21b–23, NET