Someone once said that if you could convince a man that there is no hope, he would curse the day that he was born.
You see, hope for humans is an important part of life.

Years ago a submarine was rammed by another ship and quickly it sank to the bottom of the ocean.
The entire crew was trapped inside that submarine.
Many boats rushed to the disaster, but no one really knew what the submarine crew went through in those few hours underneath the water.

Men bravely clung to all the oxygen that they could get until, slowly, it gave out.

One diver who came to the rescue, 
swam down and put his ear to the side of the submarine and listened, 
The diver heard tapping noises - someone was banging out a message in Morse code.

The message was a question: ’Is there any hope?’.

That question, is the cry of all humanity. 
Is there any hope?

There is hope because of Jesus Christ. Whatever we may go through we must keep going.  It is the will of God for us to come forth just as victorious as Jesus Himself.

​Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6, says:
’For unto us a child is born’ - speaking of this child, Immanuel - ’unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God’.

In Hebrew El-Gibbor, the mighty God!
this child actually signified the living presence of the eternal, mighty God with His people.
And that child was going to be born - that’s what Immanuel meant to Isaiah.

Matthew 1:23 (KJV) "’Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

An artist once drew a picture of a winter scene, it was twilight,
the trees within the picture were heavy with snow, there was a dreary, dark house in the background that looked lonely and empty.

Right there, in the midst of a snow storm, all that could be seen was a dark black house shadowed with the silhouette of these trees.

It was a sad picture, but then with a quick stroke - just one quick stroke - with a yellow crayon, the artist simply put in a beam of light coming from the window.
The effect, it was transforming, it was magical, because the picture was transformed into a vision of comfort, a vision of cheer.

Listen: that is what the name ’Immanuel’ meant to Matthew, that is what the name ’Immanuel’ meant to God’s people.

What does God is with us mean to you?  To me it means when my little girl died at 16 days old He felt my pain. He knew my loss. He knew my frality and knew I was vulnerable to a deep dark depression and He surrounded me with those that loved me and knew how to help me up out of that hole of despair.  It means when my father died He prepared me.  He gave me three dreams to tell me it was going to be alright and to let go because I was holding on to him for dear life instead of holding on to Him.  It means when I saw my house go up in flames with all my worldly contents, including baby clothes, the children's precious toys and books, their blankets and all they took comfort in was gone yet He preserved our little family including the dog and the cat.  Because He is with us He takes care of us. We are never alone.

"The best of all is this: God is with us." ~John Wesley

God has come not just to put His hand on us, not just to say ’Well done’ and give us a pat on the back and push us forward  but He has come to stay, He has come to dwell, He has come to reside with us!

Isaiah 41:10 - Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

When we are sick we feel very alone.  People rally around us in the beginning but as the sickness lingers people start to forget about us and go about their business.  For the most part when that sickness brings with it pain it begins to change our personalities especially if we need to begin pain killers.  Then with this comes depression, perhaps long hours of sleeping and limited activities.  How do I know? Because I have been sick as long as nine months at a time.

While in Africa towards the end of a mission’s trip of teaching in a Bible College and several different churches I began to notice swelling in my neck and arms.  By the time I got home my right arm hurt so badly I literally thought I was going to lose my mind.  At one point I asked my husband to please take me to the ER and ask them to remove my arm. I believed I could live better without the arm because at least then the pain would be gone.  I became addicted to pain medications unknowingly and God told my husband to take them from me because I would have a worst problem.  Not knowing anything about withdrawals I believed my symptoms had grown worse because I did not sleep for three days. I was constantly sweating yet I was freezing cold.  I called my Dr. again and they ask me if I was still taking my medicines I told them no and why.  They told me I could have killed myself going off like that as I was up to nine-10 pills a day.

On the worst night of pain I found myself in a fetal position crying out to God.  After much prayer on the floor of my living room I finally went to bed.  The next morning I had to lead Praise and Worship at our church.  I began holding my microphone with both hands as I had done for weeks because the pain was so great but in an instant I noticed the pain was gone. I began to sing my own song of deliverance. "I got it! I got it! I got it!"  The roof came off that little church as my healing was complete. God was with us.  He was with me. He healed me.

In these dark days when most of the time I found myself alone He was with me.  He cradled me in my pain. He was faithful to the end. In my unknowing detox He was with me. In my loneliness He was there.

​Whatever you are going through today He is with you.

Join me tomorrow when we conclude this series on, "God is With Us"  If you read this post would you please share and re-post, tweet or Facebook.  If you get it in your in-box please forward.  Let's get the word out each day together Monday through Friday. Thank you for your help.