December 10 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

There was a king whose name was Ahaz. He was afraid because two other kings were going to attack his country. The prophet Isaiah said to king Ahaz, "Don't be afraid. God is with us." But the king did not want to listen to religious talk.

"You may ask a sign of the Lord your God," said the prophet. But the king said, "No, don't bother." And he added piously, "You may not test the Lord."

But Isaiah told Ahaz the unasked-for sign anyway: A virgin will give birth to a child, and his name will be called Immanuel, that is, God-with-us. Before the child grows up, Isaiah continued, the Lord will destroy your enemies, and your own country will be devastated as well.

We don't know anything about the circumstances of the birth of Immanuel, if, indeed, a boy with this symbolic name was born in the days of Ahaz and Isaiah. But the name-giving was a sign for a future event, the birth of Jesus. Many years after the prophet spoke, the virgin Mary gave birth to Immanuel, our blessed Savior. Then the sign of deliverance was fulfilled.

Notice that the sign of Immanuel was originally announced in the form of a threat: If God himself shows that he is with his people, woe to you if you still don't believe.

We have now received the ultimate sign of God's power and love. God is with us. Now we have no reason in the world to doubt God's intentions. He has decisively chosen to be on our side: Immanuel!

Now there may be no doubt in our mind and no fear in our way of living. God is not against us; God is for us. And if God is for us, who shall be against us?

Today the prophets of doom are getting too much of a hearing. They fail to see the sign—Immanuel, God-with-us. We must not get upset by their unbelieving talk. Immanuel is born. Therefore we will not be afraid.

REFLECTIONS

What "prophets of doom" do you hear these days? Does their message frighten you? Should it?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.