“The Immanuel Principle and Responding by Faith”

Is obedience to God risky? When confronted with a command from the Lord, many do a risk-reward analysis to determine whether they should believe and obey. They ask if obedience is compelling enough to do, rather than responding to the authority of the Word of God. Before Jesus was born, God called Joseph to be His earthly father and to take Jesus’ virgin mother as his wife. What compelled his obedience? Here is the answer we get from this passage - “Immanuel”, which means “God with us”. God was with Joseph. God was with Mary. God is with His people and God is with us. Will we respond in obedience and faith, knowing that God is with us? If we don’t believe God or trust Him, we will not be able to obey or please Him. Let’s consider how God is with us and how that affects the way we live.