Making It Through

"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. When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; neither will the flames consume you. For I am your savior, I, Yahweh, your God, the Holy One of Israel. Since you are precious in my sight and important - for I have loved you, I give men in exchange for you and people in return for your life." - Isaiah 43:1-4

We hear the words "God loves you" or "Jesus loves you" so often we don't know what it really means. If our world shatters around us or we see and hear of so many injustices, reason tells us that God can't possible love us. But if you think about it, the only way for us to really know God in our lives is if we are able to make it through the trials and sorrows that hurt us and see that He was there all along. Loving someone does not mean preventing them from experiencing things, but instead to take their hand and walk them through to where they need to be. Learn to trust in God through the hardships that come to us - you have been redeemed by Him, you specifically He has called by name. Notice that the verse says that when you pass through water, when you pass through rivers, when you walk through fire - in life we WILL go through hardships but what makes it all worthwhile is that when we make it through to the other side, it is His embrace that will wait for us. These experiences we go through help us grow and be spiritually on the other side, where we need to be. And when He walks with us through these problems, we will see that we made it through without being hurt, the flames never consumed us because He promised His protection. We are precious in His sight, we are important and all things He allows so that eventually we get to know Him and see the wonders of His hand since otherwise, we might not have paid attention. The day will come when you will give thanks and glory to God because you'll see how you've made it through and how He protected you and let you know His Name.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, the waters do feel so high at times and the heat is so close to burning me, but I know You love me and have set me apart for You. Help me, my God, to fully trust You and get through to where You are. In Your Name we pray, Amen.