Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  John 1:1-5

Jesus.  There is no other name quite like it.  He is God with us.  He is the Alpha and the Omega–the beginning and the end.  He is the Word of God.  He came to be with us, to live among us, to save us, to free us, to deliver us.  He is Emmanuel.

Emmanuel: God with us.

Think on that.  Really think on that.  He chose to come to live among us.  Did you know that during the 33 years that Christ lived on the earth that there was “peace on earth?”  There were no wars.  There was peace.  I think that is so beautiful.  And I relate that to my heart: when I am in Christ and Christ is in me, I have peace.  When I am in the Word (Christ is the Word), I have peace.  He is with me.  He is with us.

Jesus.  The Son of God.  Our Deliverer.  Our Savior.  Our peace.

We know that the true meaning of Christmas is Christ.  It’s to celebrate His birth, that He was sent to the world as the Father’s greatest gift, so that ‘whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16).  And we take hold of that gift and unwrap it when we acknowledge and accept Christ as our savior and ask Him to forgive us of our sin.

But there’s more to the gift.  There’s healing, freedom, comfort, beauty, deliverance, peace, joy, love, and the list goes on and on.  Every single aspect of our life is touched by Christ’s love, by the Father’s love.  All we have to do is accept that gift and reach into that wellspring of life of God’s Word.

When I thought of writing this post, I thought about how much the Lord has done in my life this year in regards to eating and how I think about food.  I’ve thought about the amazing transformation that has taken place in my heart and mind–which has also become evident in my life and eating.  And I know I’ve talked so much about this, but I attribute that to being in His Word and Him being so faithful to watch over His Word to perform it.  It was faith in action.  I believed what God said (took a little while at first), but after awhile His Words became so real in my heart and then I saw the evidence of that in my life.

It says in John 1 that Christ is the Word, and the Word (Christ) is life.  His Word is a wellspring of life.  Christ is our life.  He is the reason we truly live.  I am seeing that I am not truly living unless I have Christ as the Lord of my life.  He is the One I fix my eyes upon.  He is my strength.  I lean upon Him.

And so that means I lean upon Him when it comes to my eating habits.  And one of the ways I do that is by being in His word.  This isn’t a task I cross of my “to-do” list each day.  This is an essential part of my daily walk with Him.  Somewhere along the way I gave food, weight, and body image a place in my life that God never meant it to be, but through Christ I have overcome and continue on this journey of finding peace and satisfaction in this area.

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  John 8:32

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  Romans 10:17

One of the ways He speaks to us is through His Word.  And when we read the Word, the Holy Spirit brings that word back to our remembrance.  And in a sense, His Word is in us.  Emmanuel: God with us.  He may not be physically right here with us that we can reach out and physically touch Him, but when we read His Word, He touches our hearts, minds, and souls.  He breathes His life into us.  This is so beautiful!

I’m so thankful the Father sent His Son.  Jesus is the BEST gift of all!

How about you?

How can you embrace that gift (Jesus) this Christmas and every day of your life?  Do you look at spending time with God as a “have to” or a “get to”?  He wants to be with you: have you invited Him into your life?  And if you have invited Him into your life, have you invited Him into the area of eating?  He wants to be with you!  He is Emmanuel.

Written by: Christina