Fire and Water

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. Isaiah 43:2

God is not surprised when we go through difficult times, notice it does not say “if”, but “when”. He doesn’t promise to prevent the hard times, but He does promise to be there with us and not let us be overcome. When the deep waters of life start rising around us, we need to keep our eyes up and focused on Jesus. Those waters may rise the whole way, to where only your face is still above the surface. And in those times the only place you can look is up. If you try to look down, or even to the side, you will go under. Don’t focus on the problems that are threatening to overtake you. Focus on the One who is fighting on your behalf to keep you afloat. Other times we may feel as though the world is ablaze and the fire is spreading all around us. Stick close to Jesus, don’t wander from His side. The flames can’t touch Him, they won’t consume you either. It’s still scary in the middle of the flames, it can be hard to see your way through, but you will see victory in the end. Then you will be able to say, “See, there He is, just like He promised.”

See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. Isaiah 12:2

While the storms of life can be terrible to go through, His strength can give you a song of praise to sing while you walk through them. Singing in the rain makes the storm seem a little less scary. Maybe you’ll even be able to splash in the puddles a little bit on the way.

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. Psalm 103:1-2

I think there’s good reason these verses landed right at the center of the Bible. How many of your storms has God already gotten you through? If you’re reading this, chances are that it’s 100%. Sit down and make a list of the trials you have already faced, big and small. Jesus has walked you through all of them, whether you realized He was there at the time or not. If your eyes weren’t on Him in the deep waters, He was pushing you up from below. If you weren’t purposely staying close to Him in the fire, He was sticking close to you. You may have swallowed some water, or got a bit burned, but you made it to the other side. Now you can draw on those trials to remember how faithful He is, and pull yourself closer to Him. Remembering all the times that God has pulled you through gives you the confidence that He will do it again and again. His grace has no end.