Isaiah 43:2 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.
I think that it is a good practice to read this verse often, each time soaking in the comfort it provides. And when we read we will discover there is much more than we first thought..
There is the comfort and reassurance we may be seeking, and there is also the reminder to persevere. C. S. Lewis speaking of perseverance says, “We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.”
As much as we would like God to remove the obstacles and difficulties we’re facing, that doesn’t always happen. He does promise, though, to be there with us.
As we persevere through the deep waters of disappointment and discouragement, He walks through the waves with us.
As we persevere through life’s storms and the rivers of difficulty, He keeps us from drowning.
As we persevere through the flames of oppression, hardship, and suffering, He keeps us from burning.
As we persevere through daily difficulties and life’s hardest days, God is there, walking with us—making sure it doesn’t consume me.
His promise is to each of us —
He will be with us every step of the way.
Guiding, guarding, and protecting.
Offering strength, comfort, and reassurance.
Today and all of our tomorrows.
We only have to look to Him, trust Him, and rely upon Him.
He will be by our side, as we persevere one day at a time.
God of many names
We give ourselves into the hand of your continuing creativity;
Our past, with its joys and triumphs, its failures and regrets,
Our present, with its struggles and accomplishments,
its hopes and setbacks,
Our future, with its fears and freedom,
its pain and possibility,
trusting the Spirit that breathes life,
trusting the love that will not let us go,
trusting the promise of the Word made flesh. Amen
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