But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “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; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isa. 43:1-3
Heavenly Father, your Word is a balm for the broken, ballast for the bewildered, and bread for the hungry. This isn’t theory, or only good theology; it’s experientially true. You’ve promised to “show up” and be enough, and you are. In the storms of life, you are nearer than the storms themselves.
As Isaiah reminds us, you’ve created us and you’ve redeemed us. You summoned us by name, calling us to life in the gospel; and have given us the sweetest name imaginable—”Mine.” No more condemnation; no more orphan-like spirituality; no more making a name for ourselves. We are yours and your banner over us is love. Hallelujah, many times over.
Father, you don’t promise we won’t experience floods and torrents, fires and flames. But you do promise you will be with us, and that we won’t suffer ultimate harm. To know you are near and to know you are good is all we really need. We will go anywhere and do anything, as long as we’re convinced that you’re with us and for us.
We know ourselves to be “precious and honored in your sight,” because of what you’ve done for us in Jesus. We praise you for the one and only truly indescribable gift—given for us and to us (2 Cor. 9:15). And since you didn’t spare your own Son, we can trust you graciously to give us everything else we need (Rom. 8:32), in current and future storms. We don’t have to be afraid of anything or anyone, for you are with us and you are for us. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus triumphant and trustworthy name.
No comments:
Post a Comment