As the children of Israel prepared to enter the promised land, Moses reflected on their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, during which they must have sometimes felt abandoned and alone.
“The Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand,” said Moses. “He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing” (Deuteronomy 2:7).
About 600 years later, Isaiah prophesied, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14, 2 Nephi 17:14). The Hebrew word im (עִם) means “with,” anu (אָנוּ) means “us,” and el (אֵל) means “God.” So this name means “God with us,” or “with us is God.”
In the following chapter, Isaiah uses this name twice in context, in order to reassure Israel that they are not abandoned. The first time it sounds more like a name, and the second time it sounds more like a statement, but both times, the word in Hebrew is the same:
[The Assyrian army] shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel….
All ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
Isaiah 8:8-10, 2 Nephi 18:8-10
About 700 years later, a virgin named Mary conceived a child by the power of the Holy Ghost. This was no ordinary child. He was, in the words of Abinadi, “God himself” (Mosiah 13:28, 34, Mosiah 15:1, Mosiah 17:8-9), who had come down from heaven to redeem His people.
No wonder Matthew quoted Isaiah’s prophecy after relating the words of an angel to Mary’s betrothed, Joseph. “All this was done,” he wrote, “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:22-23).
Brad Wilcox referenced this passage as he shared the following words of reassurance:
[God’s] grace is not just a prize for the worthy. It is the “divine assistance” He gives that helps us become worthy. It is not just a reward for the righteous. It is the “endowment of strength” He gives that helps us become righteous. We are not just walking toward God and Christ. We are walking with Them.
“Worthiness Is Not Flawlessness,” General Conference, October 2021
Today, I will remember that God is with me. I will take courage from the thought that He is not only beckoning me to come to Him, but that He is willing to walk with me along that journey.