Have you ever noticed how important it is to have an ally whenever something bad happens? Like you’re going through something embarrassing, maybe sharing a story about a habit you have - and you didn’t know it was weird until you’re nearing the end of it and everyone is staring at you...and that’s when it hits you: I’m the only one - this is just a “me” thing… and all I want is for just one person to say “I’m with ya.”  

Maybe you feel alone in a different situation you’re facing. You feel as though you’re the only one who doesn’t have your life figured out. Or you’ve dealt with a significant loss, and you feel like you’re the only one who understands what you’re going through. Or it involves a breakup – romantic, a friendship, a business partnership. Maybe you’re facing uncertainty, you feel ashamed of decisions you’ve made, you’re full of worry… You just need one other person to see you and say “I’m with ya. I relate. I’ve been there too.” 

Because the moment that happens, your circumstances don’t shift automatically, but it’s like you get a burst of hope – I’ll be all right, I’ll make it through this!  The original Christmas, Jesus’ birth, was full of uncertainty. “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18).”  

Mary, probably 13 or 14 years old, becomes pregnant before they're married... talk about messy!  “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly (v. 19).”  Your fiancée is pregnant and you didn’t do it - what kind of assumptions are you making? Messy!  But they begin this 80 mile journey to Bethlehem. Eventually Jesus is born - in a food trough surrounded by farm animals - not how Mary planned to give birth to her firstborn! However, Matthew assures us:  “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’) (v. 22-23).” 

Emmanuel: God with us.  We are looking for someone to come alongside us in the midst of our pain, in the middle of our mess, someone to look us in the eye, and say, “I’m with ya.”  In Jesus, we have God Himself, quite literally saying to us, “I’m with ya.”  God with us means that he understands every aspect of our lives! Jesus knows what you are going through. Jesus was born into a mess to show us, to scream, to shout out to us, “I’m not afraid of yours.”