The allegorical poem “Footprints in the Sand” is well known. The narrator describes a dream of walking along a beach with Jesus, reflecting on scenes from his life. During particularly troubling memories their two sets of footprints were reduced to one. The narrator wondered why Jesus abandoned him during life’s difficult moments. But Jesus explained that during those troubling times the single set of footprints reveals that He was carrying the narrator through those hard times. This fictional poem represents a biblical truth: God is always with us, even during the hard times when we might doubt His presence.

When an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, he said that Mary would give birth to a Son who would fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 and would be called Immanuel—Hebrew for “God with us.” When we are walking through life’s challenging moments, we can rely on the promise that Jesus—Immanuel—is with us.

Though we can’t see Jesus physically, we believe He is there as we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

God works in us and with us, not against us or without us. 
John Owen