Day 18 – With

Baby Jesus, born long ago and called “Emmanuel,” meaning “God-with-us,” presents us with a conundrum. Was God not with us before Jesus’ birth? Is God still with us after Jesus’ death?

Some may say these questions are too simple and dismiss them by referencing any number of stories from the Old Testament, on the one hand, and the promise of the provision of a “Comforter” in the form of the Holy Spirit on the other, not to mention the assurances from the Apostle Paul that Christ continues to abide with us through that same Holy Spirit.

But do we sense God’s presence with us today?

Twenty-two years ago, a diagnosis of an aggressive ovarian cancer, stage three, left me fearing that I would have only a few short years left with my wife, Kim. It would have been easy to assume that we had been abandoned by the God who has promised to be with us. But I’ve come to understand that God being with us doesn’t mean God preventing all the harm we may experience from the evil in the world around us.

Ask Job, from whose story I drew much consolation. I prayed for that sense of “withness” that allowed Job to declare, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15).

God has responded by walking with us through major invasive surgeries, much chemotherapy, and the long-term side-effects that burden my wife’s daily existence.

If you have not been a caregiver/supporter of a loved one who is suffering from cancer, you may have to take my word for it that you suffer too. It is incredibly difficult to watch them suffer physically while being unable to help relieve their pain, much less to fix the problem permanently.

If you have been in my shoes, you know. I could not have borne that burden if not for the assurance that whatever happened, God would be walking with me in the fire. I know that my sense of calm was not my natural response to our situation, but the result of God’s promise to be with us.

Let me tell you a story.

It was a dark day during a particularly difficult line of chemotherapy. The side-effects of the chemo drug had stripped away the skin from the palms of Kim’s hands and the soles of her feet. She wore two pairs of thick sweat socks to stand and wore surgical gloves over her hands, which were covered in some sort of salve, to bear the sensitivity of touching anything at all.

This particular day, Kim had managed to crawl from the bedroom to the kitchen, and could only make it back to the living room before the pain was unbearable. She collapsed on the couch and found at her side a book that invited her to imagine herself on the side of the road along the route to the cross. She probably fell asleep. But as she struggled with the discouragement from her discomfort, she saw Jesus carrying the cross and, as He passed by, He turned and looked her in the eye. Her only way to describe what she had seen was one word: Love.

I am convinced that God came to our living room, cradled my beloved Kim in His loving arms and whispered the story of His love in her ear. Her whole perspective changed, and when I returned home from work, she greeted me with an energy and enthusiasm I had not seen for months.

Is God with us today? Indeed, God is with us. God is with you today!

God hears our cries and knows our pain. God is walking with you through whatever you are experiencing today. Close your eyes and listen to the voice whispering the story of God’s love in your ears.