The word for the day is, “God is with me.”  In the two darkest moments in Joseph’s life– sold into slavery and thrown into prison– the very first words the Lord records in Genesis 39 immediately after these dark, wicked events are, “I was with Joseph.” Wow.  The beauty of those two repeating statements.  In our darkest hour, the Lord is right there.  We are never alone. Never abandoned.  Never forgotten.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Ps 46:1).

May we draw strength from His very real presence.  He is not just some cosmic force in the heavens.  He is right here, right now, in me.   Emmanuel, God with us.