In 2025, we don\u2019t have to wait much in our everyday lives. We have access to apps that deliver almost anything we need quickly, televisions that allow us to skip through commercials, and fast passes to get us to the front of the line at amusement parks. It\u2019s hard to wait when we can have pretty much anything we want whenever we want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah prophesied that the Lord would give God\u2019s people a sign through a virgin conceiving a son she would name Immanuel. In Hebrew, \u201cImmanuel\u201d is translated as \u201cGod is with us\u201d (Matthew 1:22\u201323). Signs in the Old Testament were given to warn people, execute divine judgment, deliver people from oppression, memorialize God\u2019s miraculous protection, and in this passage, anticipate a Savior for all nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To a people who longed for freedom, a sign of a Savior sounded good, but how long would they have to wait?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although we don\u2019t love to wait, we are willing to wait for the table at our favorite restaurant, the arrival of a child, or the fun vacation getaway. When a friend says the words, \u201cyou won\u2019t regret waiting,\u201d or when the waiting is tied to someone or something we love, we wait. On the other side of our waiting, we typically proclaim, \u201cIt was worth the wait!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Long ago, God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways (Hebrews 1:1). These credible sources would remind the people that the gift of God with us, One that would be born in a manger that would dwell among them, was a gift that was worth waiting for. Grace upon grace and truth would come through Jesus (John 1:16-17).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we allow it, God can meet us, hold us, and keep us in the waiting. And the God of immeasurably more tends to give us gifts in the waiting\u2014that is, if we\u2019re willing to stick around and unwrap them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How has God met you in your waiting seasons? What grace and truth did you receive that would have been bypassed if you had not waited?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God is a promise keeper. We can trust God because God\u2019s track record speaks for itself. The Savior God promised the people throughout the Old Testament was God Himself in the incarnation. There were roughly 400 years between the Old Testament and the New Testament, and Jesus was more than worth that wait!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God put on flesh to become like us so He could redeem us. The One made lower than the angels for a short time tasted death so that each of us could unwrap the gift of salvation and a \u201cGod with us\u201d for now and for eternity (Hebrews 2:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What have you been waiting a long time for?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During this Advent season, may we be reminded that Jesus is our sign and salvation. While we wait for healing and complete restoration and redemption to come to pass, Immanuel, God with us, means we\u2019re not waiting alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In 2025, we don\u2019t have to wait much in our everyday lives. We have access to apps that deliver almost anything we need quickly, televisions that allow us to skip through commercials, and fast passes to get us to the front of the line at amusement parks. It\u2019s hard to wait when we can have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":72670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[307],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advent25"],"acf":{"hero_background_image":false,"related_plans":[72991],"weekly_truth":false,"grace_day":false,"share_text":"#SheReadsTruth","devotional_text":"IMMANUEL, GOD WITH US<\/b>
\r\nby Rachael Wade<\/i>
\r\n
In 2025, we don\u2019t have to wait much in our everyday lives. We have access to apps that deliver almost anything we need quickly, televisions that allow us to skip through commercials, and fast passes to get us to the front of the line at amusement parks. It\u2019s hard to wait when we can have pretty much anything we want whenever we want.<\/p>
\r\n
In Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah prophesied that the Lord would give God\u2019s people a sign through a virgin conceiving a son she would name Immanuel. In Hebrew, \u201cImmanuel\u201d is translated as \u201cGod is with us\u201d (Matthew 1:22\u201323). Signs in the Old Testament were given to warn people, execute divine judgment, deliver people from oppression, memorialize God\u2019s miraculous protection, and in this passage, anticipate a Savior for all nations.<\/p>
\r\n
To a people who longed for freedom, a sign of a Savior sounded good, but how long would they have to wait?<\/p>
\r\n
Although we don\u2019t love to wait, we are willing to wait for the table at our favorite restaurant, the arrival of a child, or the fun vacation getaway. When a friend says the words, \u201cyou won\u2019t regret waiting,\u201d or when the waiting is tied to someone or something we love, we wait. On the other side of our waiting, we typically proclaim, \u201cIt was worth the wait!\u201d<\/p>
\r\n
Long ago, God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways (Hebrews 1:1). These credible sources would remind the people that the gift of God with us, One that would be born in a manger that would dwell among them, was a gift that was worth waiting for. Grace upon grace and truth would come through Jesus (John 1:16-17).<\/p>
\r\n
If we allow it, God can meet us, hold us, and keep us in the waiting. And the God of immeasurably more tends to give us gifts in the waiting\u2014that is, if we\u2019re willing to stick around and unwrap them.<\/p>
\r\n
How has God met you in your waiting seasons? What grace and truth did you receive that would have been bypassed if you had not waited?<\/p>
\r\n
God is a promise keeper. We can trust God because God\u2019s track record speaks for itself. The Savior God promised the people throughout the Old Testament was God Himself in the incarnation. There were roughly 400 years between the Old Testament and the New Testament, and Jesus was more than worth that wait!<\/p>
\r\n
God put on flesh to become like us so He could redeem us. The One made lower than the angels for a short time tasted death so that each of us could unwrap the gift of salvation and a \u201cGod with us\u201d for now and for eternity (Hebrews 2:9).<\/p>
\r\n
What have you been waiting a long time for?<\/p>
\r\n
During this Advent season, may we be reminded that Jesus is our sign and salvation. While we wait for healing and complete restoration and redemption to come to pass, Immanuel, God with us, means we\u2019re not waiting alone.<\/p>","share_image_height":"640","day_number":"18","scripture":"Isaiah 7:14, Hebrews 1:1-2, Matthew 1:22-23, John 1:14-18, Hebrews 2:9, Hebrews 2:14-18","available":true,"ad_banner_name":"","ad_banner_image":false,"ad_banner_url":"","songs":"","key_verse":"","key_verse_reference":"","background_image":false,"background_color":"#FBF7F3","scripture_references":false,"share_image":false,"author_name":"","author_bio":"","guest_social_media":false,"show_ad":true,"ad_override":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}