When Christ Had To Come To Earth To Be Born
I had a friend the other day who messaged me on Facebook, he was trying to make sense of all the chaos in our world. I know what he was going through because I’ve gone down that rabbit hole of constantly trying to understand what the hell was going on in the world we live in. Imagine doing research after research, reading and watching Psyop’s that don’t give you a definite answer to any of the chaos and noise. It can get really confusing and frustrating fast. But God is not the author of confusion but of Peace Corinthians 14:33
In moments of crisis, our first instinct is rarely to look for a miracle; it is to look for a way out. Imagine King Ahaz of Judah found himself in such a predicament, surrounded by enemies and paralyzed by fear. His world was shaking, and his heart was “shaken as the trees of the forest are shaken by the storm” (Isaiah 7:2 NLT). It is into this atmosphere of panic that God delivers one of the most profound promises in Scripture.
Isaiah 7:10–14 NLT “Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: “Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.” But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.” Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? 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’).”
This isn’t just a historical record of a king’s failure; it is an invitation to every person who feels overwhelmed by their circumstances. It reminds us that when our foundations are crumbling, God does not just offer us a temporary fix- He offers us a sign of His permanent presence. (God With Us)
Finding Hope in all The Noise
1. The Trap of Self-Reliance (The Refusal of Ahaz)
When God told Ahaz to ask for any sign “as deep as death or as high as heaven,” Ahaz refused under the guise of piety. He claimed he didn’t want to test the Lord, but the reality was far more cynical: he had already made a secret alliance with the King of Assyria.
We often do the same in your lives. Whether we face financial instability, health crisis or scares, breakdowns on all the chaos and noise we follow, we frequently mask our lack of faith with “practicality.” We stop asking God for intervention because we are too busy engineering our own solutions, stories and narratives. Isaiah 7 teaches us that hope begins when we stop trying to be our own saviors and making other people our saviors and acknowledge that we need a sign from above.
2. Grace When We Don’t Deserve It
What is most shocking about this passage is God’s response to Ahaz’s stubbornness. Even though the king rejected the invitation, God gave a sign anyway. He didn’t offer a sign of judgment or destruction; He offered a sign of salvation. That pivotal moment can change a lifetime or errors in our lives from the moment we believe and repent (change) and that he was born to die for us on the Cross.
“The Lord himself will give you the sign,” Isaiah proclaims. This is the heart of the Gospel: God’s grace is not dependent on our perfect faith. Even when we are hesitant, fearful, or distracted by our own plans, God is still committed to proving His faithfulness to us.
3. Immanuel: The Ultimate Answer to Fear
The sign God provides is a child born of a virgin, named Immanuel, which means “God with us.”
Matthew 1:18-23 NLT “This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.‘”
John 1:14 NLT “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”
In the immediate context, this was a promise that Judah would survive its enemies. But in the grander scope of history, it was the announcement of Jesus Christ. When our lives feel out of control, we often ask God to change our situation. However, God’s ultimate answer to our fear is be in His presence.
- He is not just “God above us” (he is not distant and judging you from above).
- He is not just “God for us” (he is not just cheering from the sidelines).
- He is Immanuel—God with us—in the middle of the fire, the storm, and the uncertainty, he will actively be working in our lives if we let him. Through the Holy Spirit just like in Joseph and Mary, he is with us.
Conclusion
If you feel shaken today, look toward the sign of the Savior. The birth of Immanuel proves that God does not abandon us in our crises, chaos or the noise we experience; He enters into them with us. Our hope doesn’t come from the shaking stopping, but from the realization that the One who holds the universe is standing right beside us. “Be in his Presence” and he will be in yours.
John 15:4 NLT “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
Thanks for reading!
RL
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