Your hope today is not in the depth of your wisdom or the size of your strength, but in the presence of your Redeemer with you. –Paul David Tripp

And he came to her and said, “Greetings O favored one, the Lord is with you!” Luke 1:28

Chosen by God, Mary, the mother of his Son believed the message spoken to her by the angel, Gabriel. Life was about to get very complicated for this young Jewish girl, a virgin, betrothed to Joseph but pregnant by another. How difficult it must have been to bear up under the scrutiny of the culture! How often did she ponder the words, “The Lord is with you.”? How often did she recall the prophecy of Isaiah, “Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.”? 

Immanuel. God with us. The words of the Prophet would be fulfilled in the person of Jesus.

So often we misset our hearts and hopes on things that have no power to set us free, unburden, strengthen or change us. We long for a way of escape or look to be rescued from our circumstances. In our short-sightedness, we set our hope on external means to make our lives easier. This kind of rescue is fleeting and temporary.

God’s hope goes much deeper than a political candidate or financial windfall. We don’t walk through this life alone. We have the promise and privilege of God’s presence. We set our hope and faith on the steadfast love and endless mercy of God who promises his presence. When life is beautiful and bountiful, He is there. When life is difficult and seems empty, He is there. He is our strength in weakness and success. He’s our grace in want and abundance. His hope does not disappoint. The pathway to peace is paved with hope—the hope of our salvation. It is in his loving, sustaining presence we have hope.

Immanuel: The hope of the world. Our salvation came as God and man so that we might know his person and presence. God with us—the source and focus of our hope.

There is no better time than today to reset your hope in Immanuel!