Proverbs 27:17
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Why It Matters
Why It Matters
God is not surprised by your failings. Instead of letting shame or guilt leave you feeling regretful, frustrated, or unloved, turn to the Father in whose eyes you are already fully loved and fully accepted—believe it to be true!
How God Feels When We Mess Up
How God Feels When We Mess Up
Recently, while scrolling through my newsfeed, something powerful stopped me in my digital tracks. It was a graphic that read,
Religion: “I messed up. My Dad is going to kill me.”
Gospel: “I messed up. I need to call my Dad.”
In Luke 15, Jesus tells a parable that gives us context for understanding the message behind this graphic.
The son in Jesus’ parable had messed up bad. We’re talking…greedily demand an inheritance, waste it on “wild living,” and crawl back home after it all blows up sort of bad.
In his shame, he hoped his father would be forgiving enough to at least let him work as a hired servant, since he believed his status as son had been tainted by his betrayal. He never could have anticipated the warm welcome he’d actually receive. The story culminates with the father, upon seeing his son still a long way off, setting aside his own dignity in order to run to him. The father was utterly filled with compassion, and threw his arms around his son, welcoming him home.
I love what this parable shows us about our heavenly Father’s posture. He is a Father who runs toward his children, in all our mess. He pursues us, unhindered by all the brokenness, guilt, and shame that we carry. And with great enthusiasm, he invites us to wear the identity he has for us—as sons and daughters who he sees as blameless through Christ. What good news!
That’s who God is Even when you feel lost in the crowd, He sees you. Even when it seems like other things are more important, He stops for you.
That’s who God is
Even when you feel lost in the crowd, He sees you. Even when it seems like other things are more important, He stops for you.
God Is With You
God Is With You
The prophet Isaiah wrote the words of Isaiah 7:14 nearly 600 years before Jesus was born. At the time of this writing, the Israelites were doing all the right religious things, but weren’t practicing justice as God commands. Like many prophets during Isaiah’s time, this was a warning against that injustice. But among that warning was a glimmer of hope that God would set things right.
Here, the prophet Isaiah is giving the people of Israel a reason to hope because of God’s good promise—the promise that He will provide a sign and He will show up for us. Because that’s what Immanuel means: God with us.
But what does “God with us” mean for us today?
It means we can share in that hope by fixing our eyes on Jesus and trusting in Him. We can trust that from Christ’s birth to His current reign in Heaven—Jesus is God with us.
He’s with us in our pain when we lose a loved one.
He’s with us in our anger when we see injustice and don’t know where to turn.
He’s with us in our sadness when we grieve what has been lost.
He’s with us in our joy when we celebrate with others.
He’s with us in our peace, when we’re merciful to a suffering world.
And He’s with us in our hope, lighting the way to a brighter future.
He is with us.
No matter where life has brought you to in this moment—through the good and through the bad—Jesus has been with you, drawing you to Him. He is the promised Immanuel. He is God with us.
“All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” Isaiah 7:14 NLT
“All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”
Isaiah 7:14 NLT
I just finished day 12 of the @YouVersion plan 'Christmas: God With Us'. Check it out on YouVersion.com
I just finished day 12 of the @YouVersion plan 'Christmas: God With Us'. Check it out on YouVersion.com
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