“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.

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.

For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:1-2 (ESV)

 

Read that again and make it your own.

“But now, thus says the Lord…” Amber (insert your name) I created you, I redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are Mine.

Amber “when you pass through the waters” (like Moses, trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea) or the impossible circumstance you find yourself in right now, with no way out…

I will be with you…

Amber, just as I was with Joshua when I sent him across the Jordan River. I will lead you into the land of promise, purpose, and relationship with Me. Will you go in faith? Will you obey My commands? Will you spend time with Me daily, lingering in My presence by being in My Word? Will you inquire of Me and wait for Me to show you the way to victory, just as Joshua set the example, long ages ago?  The river of challenges ahead will not overwhelm you.

I will be with you….

Amber, just as I was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego through the fire. Fiery trials come to test you, to refine and purify you. Fiery trials come because friendship with Me makes you an enemy with the world. When life gets hot and painful, remember that I am the Lord your God, and your Savior. Remember that I am the God who sees, who hears, and I know your name.

I will be with you…

Amber. As you can see, the Lord has spoken powerfully into my life through these verses. They are very personal to me. When I first heard them, the Lord reminded me that adversity is not a matter of if but when.

In adversity, the importance of the Lord’s presence became crystal clear. Over the years, as I have grown deeper in my walk and relationship with Jesus, I’ve come to treasure His presence more and more. His nearness is truly a place of refuge.

How do we get there? How do we learn to walk through the floods, rivers, and fires of this life? We draw near to the Lord by dwelling in His Word and abiding with Him. I know that He is always in and with me—but my daily question is am I abiding in Him?

We need to keep our priorities right. There are times when all we want is a solution or a way out. But God wants us to know Him and experience Him as the source of all we need.

Because our life is hidden with Christ in God, we need to set our minds on eternal things (Colossians 3:3). His plan is immeasurably more than all we can think or imagine.

Of course, we still may struggle as we learn. Storms are hard, and getting to the other side can be scary at times. The disciples cried out to a sleeping—but very present—Jesus in the middle of a raging storm.

Moses felt inadequate. Gideon felt like a weakling. Joshua needed to be reminded multiple times in just a handful of verses (Joshua Ch. 1). Even so, what did the Lord’s promise every time?

I will be with you.

My encouragement to you is the same as it is to myself. Let’s practice staying in His presence by spending time daily in His Word. Let’s keep our hearts and minds fixed on Him.

The Lord never said this life would be easy, but He did say, “I will be with you.” So, let’s keep holding tightly to Jesus’ promise!

“Behold, I am with you always.” – Matthew 28:20