Friday, March 28, 2008

When...Not If

"But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

3 For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.

4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.

5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.

6 I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth-

7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made." Isaiah 43:1-7

God is always with us. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that. We could be going through the nightmare of a loss or a tragedy, and it could seem like our world is at an end, except that God is always there. He is always there to hold us up and sustain us through. Always. Look at verse 2 up there, it says "when you pass through the waters," it doesn't say "if you pass". Tragedy and sadness will occur, we will be disappointed time and time again, and portions of life will always be difficult. But we have a God who will carry us through. We have a God who will pick us up and carry us across that river when we need him to.

God IS great!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I LOVE this passage! There is a song that uses these words and I love it. What wonderful promises He gives us here...1 - He will be with us. 2. He called us BY NAME!!!! 3. We are HIS! We are not to fear...He is God and we are His!