Isaiah had a revelation of God’s great delight in us. He prophesied, “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’” (Isaiah 43:1-2 NKJV).
Isaiah wasn’t talking about a literal flood or fire. He was talking about what people go through spiritually and mentally. Israel was in captivity at the time. Their floods were trials; their fires were temptations; their rivers were times of testing. These were all Satan’s attempts to destroy and overwhelm God’s people.
Isaiah’s words were a message of pure mercy for Israel. The people were in captivity because of their own stupidity and foolishness, but God sent them a brokenhearted prophet who said, “God wants me to tell you that you belong to him.”
The prophet continues this theme in that same chapter. “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25). Our Lord pleads with us again to come to him no matter what is happening in our lives. His unending grace and mercy are ours; all we need to do is call on him.
Right now, you may feel like you’re drowning in swirling waters. You may feel overwhelmed by a trial or temptation that threatens to consume you. You’ve got to understand from these biblical examples that the Lord does not always calm the waters. He does not always keep the floods from coming or put out the fires.
Yet he does promise, “I will walk with you through it all. This trial or circumstance will not destroy you. It won’t consume you. So, walk on. You’ll come out on the other side with me beside you.”