4th Day of Christmas: Fulfillment

“So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:22-23

David had spent years studying the Old Testament, marveling at the intricate promises God had made to His people. Yet, as he grew older, he found himself questioning whether those promises were ever truly fulfilled. Life was hard, and God often felt far away.

One Christmas Eve, David’s church read Matthew 1:22-23 during the service:
"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).”

The word fulfill struck him deeply. He thought about the centuries of waiting, the generations who clung to Isaiah’s prophecy, and how unlikely it must have seemed that God would send His Messiah in the form of a baby. Yet, there it was—God had kept His word, not in the grand way people expected, but in the most intimate way possible: by coming to dwell among them.

As the choir sang "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," David’s doubts began to fade. He realized that God’s fulfillment wasn’t just a historical event; it was ongoing. The promise of Immanuel—"God with us"—wasn’t confined to the nativity story. It was a living reality for everyone who trusted in Him, even now.

Walking out into the crisp night air, David felt a renewed sense of hope. If God had fulfilled His greatest promise through Jesus, surely He was still at work, fulfilling His promises in ways David might not yet see but could trust completely.