by: Carole Lynne Haines
But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your Creator, Jacob,
And He who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, 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 will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
3 For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
(Isaiah 43:1-3a NASB)
There are no if, ands, or buts about it. In this world we will struggle. We will pass through deep waters of grief and deep fires of trial. No one comes through this fallen world unscathed. Jesus Himself revealed a promise that I have yet to find in any Bible promise book:
“These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation but take courage;
I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
In this world you will have trouble; that is a promise. In our opening Scripture we can also see that trouble is unavoidable in this life. For God uses the word ‘when’ not ‘if.’ It does not say if you pass through the waters or if you walk through the fire, it ways ‘when.’
Yet we are not to focus on this unavoidable path that we must tread, we are to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2) We are to fix our eyes on the promises that God will be with us when we pass through those waters. God will be with us and the flames will not scorch or burn us.
Every time I shift my eyes from God onto the difficulty I am facing, I begin to sink. Just like Peter did when he sank while walking on the water towards Jesus. He sank because he shifted his eyes from Jesus onto the waves (Matt. 14:22-33)
Anxiety has been a struggle for me all my life. I have made great strides with God’s almighty help and guidance, but it is still a struggle, when that wave of trouble is on the horizon, not to turn in fear, but to stand-in God. How about you? Is there anything you are dreading or fearing today? Bring it to the feet of the only one who can do something about it. Bring all those ‘whens’ to Jesus and fix your eyes on Him, the author and protecter of your faith. He will never fail us. He will never leave us. He will never forsake us. His timing may rarely be ours. The suffering He allows is always difficult, but He is good and can be trusted to be with us in our ‘whens.’ Rest in Him, Dear Believer.
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