God With Us: Abbie Mourey

MW: What does “God with us” mean to you in this season?

AM: Recently, the Lord has been so faithful to center me when I start to feel anxious. One way He has centered me has been to remind me of His Word, specifically the quote from Matthew 1:23, “’And they shall call His name Emmanuel’ (which being interpreted is ‘God with us’).” This was not a promise Christ only fulfilled during His earthly ministry. This is a living promise from the living Word.

Christ is with us now, in the present moment, whatever we might be facing. Christ has also brought peace to my life through the words of Julian of Norwich. Julian was a fourteenth century English mystic, whose visions inspired the faithful during her own time and continue to inspire today. One of Julian’s most profound statements ties in beautifully to the idea of “God with us.” In one of her encounters with God, Julian received the following impression of God’s faithfulness, “All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well” (A Book of Showings, chapter 27).

All indeed shall be well because our God is Emmanuel—the God that is with us. He does not leave us to ourselves. He does not leave us in our pain. He does not let us sit and play in the muck and mire of this world. He has come to deliver us, to free His people.

As John 8:36 says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The Son has freed us to experience full fellowship with God the Father, and He has sent the Holy Spirit to indwell our hearts. Emmanuel, God with us, is a daily reality for the Christian. May we not lose sight of this reality as we enter into this Christmas season.

MW: How do you keep your heart centered on Christ during this Christmas season?

AM: I love words, and God often speaks to me through the written and spoken word. I try to keep my heart centered on Christ by reading the story of His birth in Luke, and by reading John 1. Reading John 1 together with the beginning chapters of Luke is a wonderful way to be reminded of Christ’s purpose in being born: He came “for us men, and for our salvation,” as the Nicene Creed so beautifully puts it. Reading stories like Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol are also salient reminders of the purpose of—and dire need for—Christmas, a real Christmas.

Thank you, Abbie!