With Us

My dog has his own dog pin that he sleeps in.

It's a nice, dark, cool, quiet corner of the house.

And while he loves his pin, after a long night of sleep he's ready to be out and be with the people again (he's a very social golden retriever).

I can only imagine that for a dog the nights feel long and quiet.

When we get to Matthew 1:22, Israel is still in a space called the 400 Years of Silence.

It was a season for Israel in which there was a collective sense that God had not spoken for 400 years, there was no prophetic voice in the land for 400 years, and that maybe - just maybe - God had abandoned them for 400 years.

The lingering question for Israel's faithful was, "Would God return to us?"

We get the answer to this in Advent.

Joseph has gotten a message from an angel that Jesus would be the fullfillment of prophecy from over 400 years ago - that "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means 'God with us')."

There is a sense that God is breaking through the 400 Years of Silence to be with and among His people in the person of Jesus.

This means Advent always reminds us of two things. If you feel like God has been silent in your life:

1. He has spoken in and through the person of Jesus (you can trust His word).

2. He will speak again in and through His Spirit.

Advent is a season in which we remember that while God may be silent for a season, He is not silent for ever and that we can trust God spoke in the past and trust God will continue to speak in the future.