ISAIAH 43:1-2 – But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
THEME OF THE DAY. NEVER WITHOUT HIM. Sometimes it feels like it, doesn’t it? Haven’t we entered those dark spiritual seasons and wondered, “Where is the Lord in this?” Or we are in a period of life that is full of suffering; day in and day out. It might be physical or emotional, but whatever the flavor of the suffering, it is draining our spiritual vitality to where all we may do is cry, “God? Are you really there? I feel so alone in my pain.” And still yet, who has not experienced a prolonged time of spiritual difficulties, even oppression, when reading the Bible and praying are like scaling a high mountain with the summit nowhere in sight?
The Christian life is a journey of faith, not sight and certainly not feelings, and that is hard for creatures like us who want sight, comfort and ease in everything, including the spiritual life. Yet, it will not be so. God has ordained our walks with Him to be grueling and painful to include times of perhaps prolonged suffering of various kinds. But He has not left us to journey alone. He has given us each other; fellow travelers to shoulder our burdens and encourage us on the journey. Woe be to the Christian who has not learned this truth, invested in this truth, and is seeking to live out this truth. Try to “do” the Christian life alone and it will be a disaster. Yet as important as having other Christians with us on our journey, we have a far more greater Companion; the One who made the journey. He walks it with us – all the way. And we are never without Him. Ever. This becomes more precious and real when the Lord takes our walks with Him into today’s scripture.
There are two things which will happen in the lives of God’s children. First, we will enter “deep waters” of trial and affliction – When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. Sometimes life does feel like a flood drowning us. Sometimes we do feel like we are caught in a flash flood of circumstances dangerously close to sweeping us away into the dark holes of discouragement and even despair. Yet, notice what God says – “Yes, the water will come. Yes, the floods will rise, but I will be there with you. I will hold your head and heart above the waters. Rest in me.”
Another thing happening to the believer in today’s scripture is being placed in the heat of the Refiner’s fiery furnace – when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. God purges His children. God refines His children’s character. He often does so through the “heat” of trials and suffering. His intent is never to “burn us”, but to “burn away” the ugly dross of pride and selfishness. And as He was in the rising floods of life, He will be with us in the intense fires of life. He will be our comfort and protector in the hottest of trials. Never without Him is a truth we may hold dear to our hearts when the work of refining is happening in our lives.
We may not always feel the Lord’s presence in the hard times of life, but by faith, we may know He is near. And such a faithful stand will never let us down. He has promised to reward such obedience with the greatest gift ever – Himself.
PRAYER: “Father, thank You for Your presence in the ‘sunny days’ of life and when dark clouds engulf my heart.”
QUOTE: “I will never leave you or forsake you is spoken by the One who can never lie or betray Himself.”