My Emmanuel, it is with much excitement that I reflect on Your coming as a small infant, in the form of man, to deliver me from the strongholds of sin and helplessness that enslaved me. There lies within me a need for Your deliverance from the weight of grief, sorrow and failure that are a part of my life. I long for Your light to shine into my darkness to take away the fear, doubt and hopelessness that hide within me. I long for Your promises of peace, good fortune and love. Within me is a desire for a close and personal visit from “The Infant” who came to reside with His own and show them a better way. My deep desire is for a time when my sorrow and regrets will be erased from my memory so they can never be used by my enemy to torment me. I long for an intimacy with You where I can feel safe and watched over. Your comfort is a blessing that removes the hurts of the past and gives me hope for my future.
Your coming has brought me relief from the suffering I’ve gone through due to bad choices and missed opportunities. As I think of You in the manger, in a crib filled with straw, wrapped in swaddling clothes, I sense the vastness of Your love. You came a long way to show me how much You care for me and my future. Within Your love resides all the answers I will ever need … the hope of a better tomorrow … solutions to all my problems … and, a feeling that all is well. In Your visitation, You lifted me from the mire and placed me on higher ground. You shined light into my darkness so I could see Your plan for me. You became not only someone I could see in my mind and sense with my heart, but a positive force that guides, sustains and helps me prosper in all that I do. My wish is that You will walk with me as I travel down the lonely road of life … knowing that if I try to go my own way, You will be there to put me back on the right path.
At this time of the year, I am reminded that You came down from Heaven as a helpless, fragile child offering the promise of salvation, peace and holiness for my life. You paid the high price of Your life to redeem mine and I should be willing to show my appreciation through loving and dedicated service to You and my fellow man. The yearning I have in my heart is for the day when You, My Emmanuel, will not appear in the form of a small child, but as my triumphant “King of Kings” and “Lord of Lords” to establish a “New Heaven” and a “New Earth” where there will be no more pain, sorrow, sickness, evil or death. In the same way that the Children of Israel yearned for the coming of their King … so do I, and all believers, look for Your coming a second time. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come quickly. And it’s in Jesus’s name I pray. AMEN!!
Revelation 22:12 Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me and I will give it to everyone according to what they have done.