I Will Be With You

On Tuesday evening at our Bible study, we considered that most precious verse among others in Isaiah 43:2:

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.

As I was returning on the mountain road back to the village, I drove into torrential rain. Even though I come from the Emerald Isle where it rains so much, I have rarely witnessed such a downfall of water in so short a time. When it rains in Cyprus, it rains! How fitting was this verse I thought to myself as I carefully and prayerfully returned home.

Some fellow believers are currently going through deep testing and this verse is a real source of comfort. Most of us will ‘pass through the waters’ at some point in our lives (notice the verse says ‘when’ and not ‘if’) yet our God promises to be with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deut. 31:6). We may feel we are drowning, the water may rise to alarming heights, but God will sustain us and bring us through.

When we go through fiery trials, the flames will not burn us. This is delightfully illustrated in the Old Testament story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego when they were put into the fiery furnace. As reports of their survival came to King Nebuchadnezzar, he went to see for himself and was astonished to see ‘four men’ in the fire:

“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Daniel 3:25

Can you imagine how the men must have felt when the ‘Son of God’ stood with them in the flames! They would never be the same again!

When they came out of the furnace, Daniel records that there was not even the smell of fire on them! The God who promises He will be with us is the God who cannot lie and is faithful to the end (2 Timothy 2:13).

God determines the outcome of every situation and the outcome is always victory. He only asks us to trust Him even when we cannot understand His eternal purposes. I do believe that everything we go through is for our good according to Romans 8:28. Even when others try to harm us, God can bring good out of it as we see in the story of Joseph (Genesis 50:20). Let us be ‘believing believers’ and claim His unwavering promises.  

Note: If atheists are reading this, it may seem too simplistic. Why then do Christians die through persecution you may ask. Why do Christians like Nabeel Qureshi not get healed but are taken home to heaven early? I believe it is a matter of God's will for the individual. Christians are exhorted to have faith time and time again and I have experienced in my own life sheer miracles of God through faith. If my faith is weak, so will be the outcome of my life. If I die by persecution, God will be glorified and that will be victory. Children born with dreadful illnesses die and it is a great tragedy for all concerned, yet God brings them back to Himself and they are living right now in victory. There are no easy answers to human suffering, but we know that God addressed the problem by suffering Himself in human form and this will ultimately bring restoration in an eternal future.