January 25, 2026 Devo

As Isaiah assures Ahaz of God’s involvement in his current situation, he states what is also one of the most famous prophecies about Jesus. It also reveals one of the most endearing aspects of the nature of God. He is not a God who is far away. He is a God who is right here. He is not some Divine Being who created this world and left it to us to figure everything out on our own. He’s not a God who abandoned us—even when we abandoned Him.
When the world grew so wicked that it broke God’s heart, He raised up Noah to begin anew. When God needed to establish a people through whom He could show Himself to the world, He made a covenant with Abram. When Egypt put the people in bondage, God raised up Moses and delivered them. Are you seeing the pattern here? God was WITH His people in the wilderness. He was WITH them as they went into the Promised Land. He would be WITH them even in exile. And finally, when it was time to embrace the world with His Salvation, Jesus came and lived among us. God, in flesh and blood, was WITH us!
He is with us still. His Presence, His Spirit, and His Work among us have never ceased. Like Ahaz, we may find ourselves in difficult places. But that doesn’t mean that our God is not near. We may even have chosen our own way as the king did, and find ourselves suffering the consequences of poor choices, but God will not leave us. He remains ever close, watching and waiting for us to invite Him back in. Even those who fled His Presence and went to the ends of the earth have discovered this unbelievable truth. God is never more than just a prayer away.
Rest in that today. You who are facing tough circumstances. You who are at the end of your rope. You who have run out of your own resources. You who have run out of your own ideas. Even you who have run out of anywhere else to go. Reach out. Cry out. Turn your face toward Him. He is still “Immanuel.” God is with you. And He’s still just a prayer away. That’s God’s Word for you today.