Isaiah 43:1-2

New International Version (NIV) 

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
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.

For Meditation

Do not fear, for I … (Is. 43:1). 

What a sacred declaration! What blessed encouragement! It’s the most comforting voice to the distressed saint. It communicates warmth, divine presence, assurance, protection, safety, and hope.  

God spoke these words to His special people in exile, scattered everywhere with no hope of rescue. In that dark period of Israel’s history, God comes through with a reminder that He is their God and Creator, the One who formed them as a nation, His special people. He afflicted them, but had not forgotten them.

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

   I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

I love how the God of all creation, the Sovereign God, has done the things that are yet to come. Then He assures them of His presence and protection in every situation they suffer through—the water, river, and fire—none of them would harm them (2). Isn’t God good?

You may have drenched your pillows with tears because of your crucible. Like Job, pain and suffering may have become your constant companions, and it surprises and confuses you that those challenges have come your way. Take heart, for your Redeemer reminds you He has called you and that you are His.

God didn’t say ‘if’ they pass through the waters. Instead, he said, ‘when’ they pass through the waters. God knows that the waters and rivers and fires of this world will try us as we walk with Jesus. There should therefore be no surprises when they come (Jn. 16:33; 1 Pt. 4:12; 1 Jn. 3:13). However, His firm assurance is that He will walk with us through them (Isa. 43:2). Isn’t God’s promised presence and keeping more comforting?

Can you imagine the joy that flooded the hearts of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace (Dan 3:24-25), and of Daniel when God shut the lions’ mouths (6:22)? Imagine Paul’s joy when an angel of the Lord assured him of safety in the storm (Acts 27:23-24). How different will that be for you, His desperate and anxious child, when the Master’s voice comes through your tears—when He reminds you that you are His beloved child, that He cares for you?

God’s presence makes every fear and anxiety flee by faith. It is what enables you to say with the Psalmist:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging, God will be my constant companion and helper (Psa. 46:1-3). 

That is when we can say with David:

The Lord is my Shepherd; I will fear no evil (Psa. 23:1)

May the promised presence of the Almighty lift you this morning from your fears and anxieties, and may you sleep with Jesus through the storms of your life (Mk. 4:37-38). Amen.

Pray with Me

Father, thank you for your constant presence and protection with us through the murky waters, swift and cascading rivers, and fires of this world.  We rejoice in our redemption in Christ Jesus and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, amen.

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