Longing for Immanuel

by Hailey Pruitt

The last week of the year is always one of the hardest for me. Christmas is over. But the new year has not quite begun. We find ourselves in an in-between place, not sure how to process the season that has ended and uncertain of what comes next. I love the Advent and Christmas seasons, and the sadness that follows an ending without something to look forward to is tough. So how do we finish this season well?

I don’t know what 2026 will hold for us, but I know we don’t have to face it alone. Jesus’ last words on earth were a promise to his disciples that he would never leave them. “And, lo, I will be with you always” (Matt. 28:20). And then he ascended into heaven. Which looked a lot like leaving. But he sent the Holy Spirit to help us, to comfort us, to translate for us, and to transform us into people who are more like him. 

That transformation is often painful. One of the best examples in the natural world is the process by which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. It fills up with nourishment, secludes itself inside a chrysalis, and then becomes an unrecognizable goo, leaving behind everything it was before. It’s messy and painful and seems impossible to recover from. However, we know that eventually it will emerge more glorious and powerful than ever before, a testament to the beauty and wholeness of life in the Spirit. That kind of transformation is impossible without Christ, but the good news is we live in community and never have to do it alone. 

In exile, the apostle John was given the privilege of seeing the end of the story, and in Revelation 21, he describes that future in which we can hope. 

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. … And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 

This is the hope we hold on to when things are still foggy and uncertain. We can have peace in the gooey mess because we know how the story ends. Even if it’s not OKright now, we know that Jesus is always with us and that in the end, we will live with him. This has been the desire of our great God from the beginning. He will see it through. We are never alone, even as we wait for him. May we carry the peace and joy of this season into the new year while reaching toward the fullness of Immanuel.