His Never-ending Presence

[Jesus said,] “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:20

DURING ADVENT, AS we get closer to Christmas Day, we are made fully aware of the miracle of the Incarnation—Immanuel, God with us, God in human form. We’re joyful and excited that God would meet us face-to-face and become like us in every way except our sinfulness. But when the festivities are over and the Christmas decorations are taken down, we seem to return to the mundane grayness of our everyday problems. The disciples faced that possibility as Jesus prepared to rejoin his Father, and that’s why he gave them the promise that they would not be orphans.

Sometimes we may feel as if Jesus has taken a vacation until the Second Coming. He’s way up in heaven somewhere, busy on the throne of God while we are left in our loneliness, trying to wade through some tough situations on the earth. But Jesus came to earth as a man and was born, died, and then rose again for a purpose—to be able to be with us here, right now, always, never forsaking us. This is perhaps one of the greatest promises in the Bible. Jesus doesn’t just hear our prayers from the far reaches of heaven; he lives in us and is active in the midst of every situation we are in.

He’s not just the Baby in a manger, the Intercessor on his throne, or the victorious King coming back for us. He’s also an alive, spiritual Person in our midst, sharing all our daily trials and joys and working through them all to bring about good on our behalf.