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10th Day of Christmas Giveaways with Micca Campbell

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12 Days of Christmas at KarenEhman.com

Welcome to the 10th Day of Christmas Giveaways!!!

12 days of Christmas at KarenEhman.comToday my friend Micca Campbell is here to share her post, “Immanuel, God with Us.” She is giving away Ann Voskamp’s book, “The Greatest Gift, Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas.”   Micca Campbell is an author of, Untroubled Heart, and a national speaker for Proverbs 31 Ministries. Micca’s passion is to help others Fear Less and Live More of the abundant life in Christ. Connect with her on Facebook, twitter, and her site at miccacampbell.com

To join in on the fun and be entered to win the various prizes, simply leave a comment on the post answering the question of the day. ALSO—one grand prize will be given to one person who comments on all 12 days.

The Grand Prize is a $50 gift certificate to Proverbs 31 Ministries store and a $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com!!!

Now here is Micca for today’s post…

Immanuel God With Us

I woke to the cooing of my 8-month-old son in need of a dry diaper and a bottle. By the time I got to his room, I was fully awake to my reality. It was Christmas morning. Sigh. I had dreaded the arrival of this day.
It was the first Christmas after my husband’s death.
Most of my days consisted of loneliness and grief. I knew facing the holidays would be worse. I felt so alone.
My heart was joyless. There was no one to wish a Merry Christmas. No gifts to open. No celebration. For me, it was just another ordinary day of going through the motions. I’d care for my son and try to survive the grief and loneliness.
Have you ever been this lonely? Your situation may not be like mine, but I do know during difficult times God often feels distant. Uncaring. Unresponsive. Unaware. And yet, Psalm 139:7 challenged my feelings that Christmas Day.
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” (NIV)
The Psalmist was clear. God is everywhere. There is nowhere I can go that God is not already there.
As I pondered this truth, hope began to rise in my heart. I am never alone because God is with me in every situation, good or bad.
Isn’t this the message of Christmas — God is with us? Isn’t this the essence of our faith — God is with us?
Perhaps this is what inspired Matthew to write: “‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means, ‘God with us.’)” (Matthew 1:23).
That name, Immanuel, holds great significance for you and me.
This Name tells us Christ didn’t come that holy night to say “well done.” He didn’t come to pat us on the back or encourage us for just a time. He came to stay. God came to dwell among us and to reside within us forever.
Sure, God has always been with us, but this truth took on a whole new meaning when Jesus was born. The astounding truth of Christmas is that God put on human flesh and became one of us.
That’s not all. This baby Jesus didn’t come only to walk among us. He came to deliver us and set us right with God. The coming of Jesus meant God the Father had now sent His Son to deliver the world from sin.
What does this mean for you and me? It means no matter the challenge, you are not alone. Whatever your need — deliverance, strength, hope — Immanuel is present. He is not some far-off God. He is right there beside you this very moment.
My days grew brighter as I looked for God’s company amidst my pain. Eventually, I no longer trudged through ordinary days because my extraordinary God met me at my point of need. The secret is this. The more I learned to acknowledge His presence, the more of His presence I experienced. You can, too.
No matter where you are this Christmas Eve, you are not alone.
You may feel alone. It may appear that you are alone. But Christ is there with you. He sees you. He understands. And He can help you.
12 Days of Christmas at KarenEhman.com
This year can be different. You can celebrate Christmas morn with new joy because He — God Himself — has come to be with you. In His magnificent company, though you may be down and out, you are not without. You are not without His love or His all-sufficient strength. You are not without His safety. You are not without His care or provision. And you are not without His presence.
This is the best news of all. Immanuel, God is with us!

To win a copy of Ann Voskamp’s book, “The Greatest Gift, Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas,” Please leave a comment describing a time you felt God’s presence. Or describe a time you saw His provision.

All winners will be announced December 22nd!

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158 Comments

  1. When my dad was battling his final days with cancer I could feel God’s presence. He gave me such a peace and understanding that could only come from Him. The amount of love and strength that He was able to pour in to me was a true blessing. I am so thankful that God loves me so much that He carries me through the toughest situations life brings.

  2. Thank you for this beautiful post. Sometimes I don’t feel His presence but I just have to believe and know he is there. This year has been difficult at work and I wasn’t feeling Christ with me even though I begin each day with Bible reading and prayer. Then one day I started seeing how God had worked something out here and another thing there to relieve my stress. Suddenly I was feeling Him, even though he had been there all along.

  3. Yes I have felt this lonely I lost my Dad a year ago my mom is so depressed she doesn’t want to go anywhere or do anything. So I feel like I have lost her too. My family is torn apart half of us aren’t speaking anymore I pray everyday hearts will be mended

  4. I felt God’s amazing peace and presence at the time our son was killed in an auto accident. It is hard to describe in words, but I know God is alive and faithful.

  5. Throughout childhood and adolescence, the blanket of depression and worthlessness covered me like a dark shadow. But God set me free from that through so many avenues of provision, and I am so grateful

  6. The first time I can say that I really felt Gods prescense was Christmas 1999. My granddaughter was born in July and my husband died in August. Through the happiness and sadness I knew God was with me every step of the way.

  7. I still have a hard time “feeling God’s presence”. I think I might have felt it at times, but didn’t pay enough attention to realize it was Him. Sure, I believe he’s answered prayers and there was one quirky situation where he clearly spoke loud enough for me to instantly (after looking for months) find my husband’s wedding ring. The voice was so loud. More often; however, I’m not aware of His presence. I need to get better at that. I do think (after being in thought during the two minutes it took to type this), he was very present during the birth of my two daughters.

  8. God’s presence is with us daily we sometimes fail to slow down, be quite, and feel his presence. I am notoriously guilty of this.

  9. Three and a half years ago my second oldest son was driving to school.
    As he came upon the cemetery in Lynnville he fell asleep due to his allergy meds he was on.
    When he awoke the van was scraping between the hydro pole and the utility box.
    The pole took out the whole van side all the windows mirrors and crumpled the side; Luckily no one else was hit.
    After he hit the pole he came back out on the road and drove a couple of more driveways before stopping in one, obviously in shock.
    He said he got out and saw the damage, and said that he felt like he should pray or something…thank God for his life and that it wasn’t any worse…
    He called his dad to come help.
    Now, while all this was happening, I was at home waiting a call for work, so Tony called me and said, “get dressed, I am coming to get you… Steven has been in an accident, but he called me, so I think he is ok.”
    If anyone knows me, I am not the centre of calm, usually—I wear my heart on my sleeves and have been blessed with more tears than one person should have!
    But on the way to see Steven, I marvelled, because me, the one who is never calm, was very calm and still.
    I knew it was God and told God this has to be You, because I know it sure as sure is not me!
    Now keep doing what You are doing God, because I do not know what we will be coming upon in a few moments.
    All through seeing Steven and taking him home and everything I was calm.
    The Holy Spirit was my strength and I am thankful for it.

  10. I can say I have felt God’s provision for me this year. Most will say it’s his presence but I’m still struggling with that. I know that it was God that provided the peace this year. It has truly been a Christmas free of stress and worry. So different than years past.

  11. A couple of months ago I thought I may go to a different church on Sunday but on Sunday morning God told me no I wasn’t going there I was going where I belonged and I’ve been there every Sunday Sunday night and Wednesday night since , thank you Jesus for speaking when I thought it was ok

  12. We had just started with a new family group within our church and still getting to know everyone. Our family had been seriously struggling financially and we completely opened up to the group and were extremely blessed by the outpouring of support from everyone.

  13. A few years ago my best friend’s daughter was involved in a horrible car accident. Her injuries were life threatening, to say the least. I rushed out to be with my friend and was able to enter the room where her daughter was hooked up to more machines and tubes than I ever care to see again. While there I quietly laid my hand on the daughter and prayed quietly for God to work a miracle. As I did that, I felt a warmth flow thru my hand and into her. It was the strongest I’ve ever experienced His presence. It was as if He was saying “I’ve got this.” My friend’s daughter has since recovered fully from her injuries and is now married and a living testimony of God’s healing power.

  14. The first time I felt His presence was when I was struggling spiritually. I was feeling angry and agitated. I was flipping through channels on the TV and kept getting more and more agitated. So I turned it off and went to bed. As I was laughing in bed I began to cry to the Lord and after only saying a couple words the anger and agitation were replaced with His presence and peace. I literally felt it happen. It was an amazing moment I began to praise Him and thank Him for helping me. I had been feeling so awful and not worth much. He came as just the right moment to help me and to encourage me.

  15. I felt God’s presence as I watch an ER doctor try to entubate my nine year old son. As he kept throwing tubes on the ground and yelling for another tube to try, God reminded me that he was with us. The next day the respiration therapist asked how I could be so calm when she was so afraid they were not going to be able to save him. I had the opportunity to witness to her about the peace of God that passes all understanding!

  16. The time I most felt God’s presence was when my daughter was born. It was then that I knew a small part of what God’s love for me was and is like. I was naive to what unconditional love really meant and was. It was also then that I knew my purpose was to stay at home and raise this precious little angel, even though at the time I ran from that due to financial issues. Even with me working a second job we weren’t making it, and now that I am staying at home with Ky, we are financially getting on our feet and I can only guess that this is because we are following his will for us. His presence has been more real to me since the day she was born than it ever was.

  17. There have been times I’ve been extraordinarily sad, approaching hopelessness. My sister being hit by a drunk driver and tragically injured and forever changed. There were my three miscarriages, the loss of three little lives I had longed for and cherished. My mother-in-law’s downward spiral with debilitating and finally, lethal Alzheimer’s. But, yes, but… God is good even in the trials. Without his presence and provision of strength and hope, there were times that had it not been for God, I do not think I could have gone on. He was there. He is there. I am forever so grateful for Him not giving up on me and for Him picking me up when I didn’t feel like I could pick myself up. My life is blessed abundantly and I am so thankful to Jesus for sticking with me through it all.

  18. I feel God’s presence often, thankfully. In particular, when my Mom passed in 2009. I never thought I’d get through this period of grief. I had lived with my Mom 46 years of my life, just ever thinking of a time of her passing, even during my childhood, it was nearly unbearable. I still wake up sometime with tears streaming down my face and having difficulty breathing, but I feel God hold me through these times. If I close my eyes and just speak out his name, I feel his presence. My tears begin to dry, my breathing becomes easier and I can then begin again to pick up and move forward with hope.

    Nancy Ericsson – Massachusetts

  19. I felt God’s calming presence last year when my father passed away after a long battle with his health. God granted His almighty peace and comfort with the security my father wasn’t suffering .

  20. Thank you for your message today. I lost my dad 3 weeks ago and his funeral was 2 weeks ago today. I was so saddened and so upset – it was a sudden death, but without much pain. I was and am grateful for the prayers offered on my behalf for peace and comfort. I felt and feel God’s arms hold me and sustain me.

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