“But now, thus says the Lord,
who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
And through the rivers,
they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire,
you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord
your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;”
(Isaiah 43:1 – 3)
“When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you…
When you walk through the fire,
You shall not be burned.”
(Isaiah 43:2)
There are many, many scriptures
That we all love
Sometimes for obscure reasons
They just seem to come to mind
These three verses in Isaiah 43
Are special for me
We tend to focus on verse 2
But the context of verses 1 to 3
Are equally important
The crux of verse 2
Is that it says: “When”
NOT “If”
“Waters” refer to raging torrents
Or deep water
Not a gentle stream
And….
“Fire” is less likely to be misunderstood
As even a matchstick can burn
However, God assures us of
His protection and presence
WHEN we face troubles and persecution
As depicted by the pictures
Of Fire and Water
He may not deliver us completely
But He will always be with us
In the middle of the fire and water
Whatever they may be
And it is in this sense
That I get the encouragement
And affirmation from verses 1 and 3
That God is surely for us
And NOT against us
God created us, formed us
Redeemed us and…
Has called us by name
(Verse1)
We ARE His and should
Not be afraid
What assurance to know
That Almighty God is with you
And fighting for you
How can we possibly be afraid?
And just to be sure…
In case there is some doubt
On our part…
As to who it is that is giving
This assurance
He concludes with verse 3:
“For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;”