Immanuel: How Precious Are Your Thoughts
by Jenny Sung, Executive Coordinator and Campus Pastor for The Vine
How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God, how vast is their sum! If I were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; and when I awake, I am still with You. (Psalm 139:17-18)
What does it mean that Jesus is Immanuel – that the One who saves is the One who came and dwelt among us and continues to be with us today? God came to be with us, not just to experience humanity. He came to intimately connect with what was lost. And just as He longs to be with us each day, God is pleased when we seek intimacy.
Intimacy means seeking His presence and longing to be with Him. Intimacy means we are tuned in to listen for His voice as we become familiar with His ways, His character, and what He is concerned about and doing in this world. Intimacy means doing life together with God each day.
When my kids are with me, I’m keenly aware of their presence. As their mom, their thoughts are important to me. I care about what they care about and desire an intimate connection with them. I pray our relationship will always be close, even as they mature into adulthood. At 14 and 17 years of age, they are teenagers, so this takes intentionality on my part. One of the things I’ve practiced over the years is that when they start speaking, I will often turn off whatever is in the background. If the radio is on, I turn it off. If I’m watching a show, I’ll pause it and ask my children to repeat their words. As much as I can, as intentional as I can be, I turn off or stop what I’m doing to tune into their words and find out what they are thinking.
If this is how I am with my children, how am I with my God? If God is at the center of my life, and I am a follower of Christ, how much more valuable are His thoughts to me? The psalmist in 139 cried out, “How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God, how vast is their sum! If I were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; and when I awake, I am still with You” (Psalm 139:17-18). In this Advent season, I pray that we may be intimately connected with our God, who is always with us, Immanuel, and that we would tune out any distractions that would get in the way of being with Him.
Reflection:
What does it mean that Jesus is Immanuel in your life?
What are some ways we can be intentional to tune out distractions and build intimacy with God?