Does God feel far away from you today? I can assure you, friend, He is as close as the rapidly approaching Christmas morning. He’s closer even than that. His nearness is as your own breath and your racing thoughts this time of year. His presence is closer than the presents that still need to be wrapped and placed under the tree.

God sent His son Jesus to this earth as a tiny baby to be with us. To be God with skin on and to walk among the people. He came to heal, comfort, teach, and deliver us.  Jesus was God but He was also fully man. And the prophet Isaiah said He would be called Immanuel which means God with us (Isaiah 7:14)

In Matthew 10:7, Jesus was sending out His twelve disciples and He told them, “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ ” This was important because they would be talking to Jews awaiting the Messiah. They knew the God of the Old Testament. The God of their forefathers. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of Moses, who led His people out of Egypt.

But God was no longer in the Ark of the Covenant. And He wasn’t in the cloud by day or the fire by night to lead the Israelites through the desert. He wasn’t in the gentle whisper that Elijah heard. God was making His presence very real through His son Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.

He is here and His gospel of grace is with us.

He is not outdated but completely relevant to our times.

He is not mad at you, He’s madly in love with you.

He is the hope of the world, not the hope of the worthy.

He is not far away but close at hand.

What we lack in holiness He wants to give us in wholeness.

This Christmas is the best time to call out to Him. He is real and reachable. He is Immanuel, God with us.