Today’s Reading: Exodus 33:14

Before reading together tonight, pray and invite the Holy Spirit to help your family understand how God stays close to His people.

Today’s Big Truth:

God is always with His people—and Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of that promise.

In today’s passage, Moses is meeting with God while the Israelites are in the wilderness. Moses knows that leading God’s people is impossible without God’s help. So he asks God to stay with them.

And God answers with a beautiful promise:

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” — Exodus 33:14

This means:

• God wasn’t sending Moses out alone,
• God wouldn’t leave His people,
• God Himself would be their rest, comfort, and strength.

This was incredibly reassuring for Israel—but it was also pointing forward to an even greater promise.

Pointing to Jesus: God With Us

Hundreds of years later, God fulfilled His promise in the most personal way possible—by sending Jesus.

The angel tells Joseph:

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! … They will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

 — Matthew 1:23 (NLT)

Jesus didn’t just visit His people.

 He lived with them.

 Walked with them.

 Loved them.

 Taught them.

 Healed them.

 And after He rose from the dead, He promised to stay with His followers forever.

“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 — Matthew 28:20 (NLT)

Just like God told Moses, Jesus tells us:

• My presence goes with you.
• I will give you rest.
• You are never alone.

This is part of the Christmas miracle—God came close, not far away.

Truth for Today:

Jesus is Immanuel—God with us.

 We can rest because He never leaves us.

Family Discussion Questions

• When do you most need to remember that God is with you?
• How can we remind each other of God’s presence this week?