Emmanuel: God With Us

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Have you ever sat down and reflected on who God is? I mean, really considered who the Lord is and all He has done for us and the world around us? I personally fall extremely short of doing enough of this sort of deep reflection. The more I draw closer to Christ and center my life around Him, the more I realize I have barely scratched the surface of the awesomeness of God.

Intellectually, I have understood most of my life that the Lord is amazing. In the Bible, God is called many things, and I could easily rattle off a whole list of those names and attributes. But to truly understand even one of the names of God? I mean, seriously and thoroughly understand a single one? I could spend an entire lifetime studying and trying to comprehend and still miserably fail.

Don’t get me wrong. I get choked up every time I try to talk about what the Lord has done in my life. Honestly, I stink at offering public praise because I can’t even speak when I start to consider all the ways my Heavenly Father has blessed my life. God is my everything and has often been my only friend and source of strength during life’s darkest times. I wouldn’t have survived this long without clinging desperately to Jesus or being strengthened daily by the Holy Spirit.

But truly understand and appreciate who God is and how He loves me and has cared for me? My finite brain could never handle it all. Ultimately, my brain is pretty regularly blown as I seek the Lord and strive to know Him more.

I do have to admit, though, that one of my ultimate favorite names of God is Emmanuel: God with us. How awesome is that? Take a second and really consider what this name means. We often have this image of God where He is far above us, ruling from a distant throne. In all actuality, though, He is right here with His people every second of every day. Loving them. Guiding them. Protecting them. Providing for them. Working diligently behind the scenes for their betterment.

God might be the Most High and ruler over the entire universe, but He isn’t a distant Father. He’s never too busy. Our concerns are never too insignificant. In fact, He is always actively involved in every single aspect of our lives. He goes through our every triumph, every trial, and everything in between–right beside us! Our Lord promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us. How insanely comforting is that?

I remember the first time I started to understand this aspect of God. It completely changed how I saw my life and my everyday struggles. Looking back, I can now see clearly that even during my darkest hours, I was never truly alone. Even when my friends and family had abandoned me, my Heavenly Father never did. When I cried, He cried. When I was in pain, He held me close and understood exactly what I was enduring. When my heart was breaking, His heart was, as well. When my world felt like it was collapsing in on me, He was right there, holding me together and whispering words of encouragement to my disheartened spirit.

Knowing how close the Lord stayed close to me over all of these years is a huge comfort. Today’s and tomorrow’s trials and tribulations no longer seem impossible or horrifying. My God was with me before, so He will assuredly remain with me, no matter what the present or future holds. There is no need to fear or worry or doubt. Emmanuel will walk the rest of life’s journey with me…no matter what is waiting for me around the next bend.

• When have you felt the most alone?
• Looking back, can you now see God’s hand in any of those difficult situations?
• How does knowing that the Lord is “God with us” change your perspective in life?

© 2021 Amanda R. Dollak

Be Still and Know

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Psalm 46 has always been one of my ultimate favorite passages in the Bible. It is overflowing with many amazing promises and reassurances to help us through life’s darkest days. In fact, one of my go-to verses for when I’m feeling particularly anxious, overwhelmed, or afraid is Psalm 46:10, which exhorts: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

I currently have an image of the first half of this verse as my lock screen for my phone. I pick up my phone and look at the screen countless times a day. It feels so soothing and empowering to be reminded many times daily to “be still and know that I am God”! In this crazy, fast-paced world, I’ve struggled to find moments each day to even slow down, let alone be still. Consequently, it doesn’t hurt to have a frequent reminder to just stop, breathe, and focus on God and His promises every now and then throughout my day.

Something dawned on me this morning that never stood out about this verse before: the word ‘know’ right there hiding in the middle of the beginning of Psalm 46:10. Over the years, I’ve thought long and hard about the “be still” part, as well as the whole idea that God is God (and as such, what that means to believers based off of the Lord’s many amazing attributes). Somehow, though, I have always simply read quickly over the word ‘know’ and never thought much about it.

Today, though, it struck me as quite significant after all. I find it interesting that the Lord chose the word ‘know’ here: we are to know God is God. We aren’t to believe that God is God. We aren’t supposed to conjure up enough faith that God is God. He doesn’t ask us to speculate or even reason that God is God. It says “Be still and know that I am God.”

When we know something, there is no doubt. There is no confusion. There is no worry of misunderstanding or false conjecture. There is just fact and a firm resting in that fact. When we know something, we possess a solid and unwavering assurance in what we know.

Life and this world can be immensely chaotic and confusing. It’s incredibly easy to become disoriented, overwhelmed, or blindsided by everyday life> It becomes a thousand times more challenging with the most difficult trials we sometimes must face. Frankly, life often doesn’t make any sense. And as such, we too often are left adrift wondering why.

It’s in those moments that we need a solid anchor to hold us steadfast in the middle of the raging tempest. We require an unmoving object to reorient ourselves, or we run the risk of sailing away from the safety of shore and farther into the potentially deadly storm. God is our solid anchor and unmoving source of hope. That is, He is if we learn to stop in the middle of the deafening roar of this world’s troubles and take unwavering refuge in God and who He is.

The world might never make much sense. It might even feel like the very world itself is falling in on us. But we have a solid foundation upon which to rest. We have the rock-solid reassurance that God is God. We can take refuge in the knowledge that the Lord is in control. He has a plan. Absolutely nothing surprises Him. And even if our world does fall apart, God possesses the mighty power to put it all back together again or better yet, to create something far more beautiful or glorious from the rubble. How amazing that such a tiny word like ‘know’ can hold such power and comfort in our lives! God’s Word is truly awesome and never fails to offer new nuggets of truth amongst even the most familiar of passages.

© 2021 Amanda R. Dollak

Evil and Hardship in This World Drove Me to Create

 

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This world can be a beautiful thing. Breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. Star-filled night skies. Colorful spring flowers and autumn leaves. Newlyweds holding hands. A tiny baby’s first laugh. A moving piano sonata. Children playing gleefully with their friends. Honestly, the list could go on and on.

On the other hand, this world can also be just as ugly, cruel, and evil. Selfishness. Greed. Crime. Hate. Disease. Jealousy. Betrayal. War. Death. The list of negatives is insanely long. The pain, hardships, and trials experienced in this life are heavy and depressing. So much so that it can be far too easy to forget all the blessings that life on earth has to offer.

My childhood wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. In fact, there were days when I’m sure God is the only reason I made it through. Loved ones passed away. My parents separated and later divorced. I was born early and with a number of health issues. This led to quite a number of illnesses and health scares over the years. In fact, there were times when I literally was sick more days than I was well. I spent many days wondering why the Lord would allow this many difficulties in my life. (Sometimes, I still do.)

However, one way I learned to cope was creating worlds of my own. I spent many sick days and sleepless nights conjuring up stories. The Lord blessed me with a vivid imagination. I could never recall even one percent of the ideas I came up with as a child. Eventually, I started to write these stories down. It was an amazing outlet when I felt helpless: confined to my bed or overwhelmed by life. I made myself invincible, totally incapable of ever being sick or injured again. I gave myself awesome superpowers and talents, which I could use to reach my dreams and to help make the world a better place. I went on adventures. I saved the day over and over again. I traveled to distant worlds and through time, far from this world that seemed to always knock me back down.

Creating my own worlds helped to pass the time and to give me hope for a brighter future. Most importantly, though, it sparked within me the need to write and create. They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well, necessity sure molded me and shaped me into the writer I am today. If I had had a much more normal childhood, it’s extremely possible that I would’ve been too busy playing with my friends, riding my bike, playing video games, watching TV, or getting into mischief to hone my imagination and writing skills to such a degree. Who knows. It’s possible that I might have never even discovered my talent for writing and storytelling if I hadn’t been forced to find a way to rise above life’s hardships and imagine the possibilities.

Did you ever daydream as a child? If so, what did you imagine? Did you ever write these ideas down and create your own stories?

© 2020 Amanda R. Dollak

2014 is going to be great!

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I know in my heart that 2014 will be a better year. No, it’s not simply wishful thinking or blind faith. Rather, I know it will be a better year because I am going to make the most of 2014 — good OR bad. It’s going to be an awesome year because I’m going to do my best to make it that way.

Looking back through the almost 30 years I’ve been on this earth, I can see a lot of darkness, pain, and ugliness. I survived it all, so I can survive anything. God gives me the strength to keep on going, no matter how difficult life gets. Despite my past and the fact that I have chronic illnesses that make me hurt 24/7, I can honestly say that I am happier now than I have ever been.

I have faith that it will keep getting better, too. I’m learning more and more how to forgive, to move on, and to let all the negative emotions go. Each year, my soul is a little lighter and my heart is a little happier. I don’t know if I’ll ever wake up and feel like everything is perfect, but who really cares? I don’t! Life is a beautiful, amazing, and good gift from the Lord — and I’m learning to appreciate that more as I slowly let the negativity fall away. I’m learning that with the right focus and with unwavering determination, we can find peace, joy, and contentment even amidst the worst of storms.

 

© 2014 Amanda R. Dollak