These days, when I switch on the news or look at my social media, I am continually sucker-punched by the reality of living in this modern, broken world.
Political, societal, and economic issues such as war, injustice, exploitation, and poverty have caused an anarchical domino effect that is raging havoc in our society.
I’m talking about teenage racist crimes, looting, and pillaging as a reaction to the Prop. 47 bill, and open trunk auto theft, just to name a few. And let’s not forget the evolution of the micro-aggressive “Karen:” We’ve all had a run-in with her at some point.
Throw in the trials, challenges, and difficult seasons that all of us face into this lawlessness mix, and you’ve got yourself a battlefield — not a world — in which we live.
Jesus said in John 16:33 that we would have troubles in this world. So, how do we stay encouraged in the goodness of God when we are confronted daily by evil?
From where can we find the strength to burn brightly as a light of hope and redemption in a world that is engulfed in the dark?
Isaiah 43:2 is one of many Scriptures that uplifts our spirits and rallies our hearts. It is a direct promise made by God to us that He is walking with and protecting us in the midst of the trials and tribulations of this mortal existence.
“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.”
Let us look more closely at Isaiah 43:2 to learn why it is such a wonderful source of encouragement for us.
The Book of Isaiah was written by the eponymous prophet during the eighth century BC.
Isaiah’s prophecies were primarily directed at the Israelites living in Judah. After formerly warning the Judeans of their impending destruction as a consequence of their worship of false idols and raucous living, the prophet continued to serve his people as a mouthpiece for God during their exile in Babylon.
Isaiah spoke the Scripture Isaiah 43:2 to the defeated Judeans in order to encourage them that the Lord was with them in their period of enslavement and was protecting them.
In fact, the entire chapter of Isaiah 43 was a love letter from God to the Israelites, assuring them that He would redeem them and that they would return home. In spite of His anger and punishment, God still loved the Israelites and called them His children.
In order to understand the message of hope and encouragement that God promises us in Isaiah 43:2, let us break it down.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.”
In the Bible, deep, turbulent waters represent distress and overwhelming situations. In Psalm 69:1, King David provides a poignant metaphorical description of drowning in floodwaters as an expression of the unjust suffering he was experiencing at the hands of his enemies.
David is not the only biblical character whose trials are metaphorically depicted by the churning and tossing of restless waters.
Consider Jonah, who allowed himself to be thrown overboard into the open sea (Jonah 1:3-16), or Peter, who walked on the Sea of Galilee and then started to sink (Matthew 14:22-30).
And yet, God did not leave these two men to their fate. He sent a fish to swallow Jonah and transport him safely to Nineveh (Jonah 1:17). When Peter feared that he would drown, Jesus reached out His hand and caught him (Matthew 14:31).
Bodies of water come in all forms, very much like trials and tribulations. God also uses rivers in the Bible to prove to us that He will never allow anything that comes against us to overwhelm or overcome us: He will keep the waters at bay.
The crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 14 is a wonderful example of this. The same waters that were held back to grant the Israelites safe passage swept over the pursuing Egyptians.
Similarly, when the Israelites entered Canaan through the Jordan River in Joshua 3, God held the waters back, and they crossed over the dry riverbed.
What can we learn from these verses? Storms, rivers, and rough waters are seasons in our lives that are unfortunately inevitable.
However, God accompanies us during such times; His hand is always outstretched to catch us and hold the dangers of this world at bay.
God will never let us drown; in fact, He will drown those things that come to rob us of our peace, our joy, and our well-being.
“When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
If tempestuous bodies of water depict distress and calamities in the Bible, fire represents danger and destruction.
Sometimes, we expose ourselves to dangerous situations as a result of making bad decisions. Other times we are threatened by people or forces that are out of our control.
And let’s not forget that we have an arch enemy called Satan, who seeks to kill, destroy, and lie to us (John 10:10).
Again, God is with us when perilous fires confront us. In fact, He protects us so well that we appear unscathed by our experiences to the rest of the world.
Consider the three exiled Judeans, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were condemned to perish in the fiery furnace of King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon (Daniel 3:16-27).
Whereas the flames killed the soldiers who tied up the three Hebrew boys, they themselves were not burnt, despite the angry king commanding the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual.
Verily, the Bible says that the Judeans didn’t even smell like smoke when they came out. What’s even more astounding is that the soldiers witnessed four men walking around in the furnace, not three.
God is always our fourth man in the fire. When life cranks up the heat, God will ensure that the flames will not touch you.
Isaiah 43:2 is such an encouraging Bible verse for believers, as it is a promise He makes to us to accompany and protect us as we try to navigate this journey called life. Isaiah 43:2 is just as relevant to us modern believers as it was for the exiled Israelites living in ancient Babylon.
Having the assurance of God’s presence and protection gives us not only God-inspired confidence, but also allows us to view our circumstances from the perspective of a victor, and not a victim.
God may not have caused the trial or tribulation we are currently facing, but He will use it for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).
God never wastes a battle.
And besides, God always wins in the end. For if He is with us (and He is!), then nothing that comes against us has a hope of prospering (Isaiah 54:17).
God always, always, has the final say!
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, let us face the person, situation, or circumstance that is afflicting us today with a new attitude of confidence that God is always with us and protects us.
Let us use our faith to push back the turbulent waters that seek to drown us, knowing that Jesus already has His hand stretched out to catch us, just as He did Peter on the Sea of Galilee.
Let us boldly walk into the fiery furnace, knowing that God is our fourth man in the fire and that He will bring us out, and the smell of smoke shall not even be on us.
Finally, let us be mindful that the more we grow in the Lord, the deeper the waters will be that we will have to cross, for the enemy of the Lord is also our enemy.
Let us seek our Heavenly Father and lean into Him to practice deeper faith, so that we can walk as victors in Christ as He parts the waters for us, to His glory.
For further reading:
Why Is ‘The Battle Is Not Yours’ So Encouraging?
What Does God Promise When You Go Through Deep Waters?
4 Encouraging Truths about Suffering
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/kevron2001
Madeline Kalu is an Australian Christian writer and the co-founder of Jacob’s Ladder Blog and The Proverbs 31 Home. She is also the co-author of the “My Year of Miracles 2024” journal, which encourages a daily reflection on the miracles that God performs in our lives throughout 2024. Madeline lives in Germany with her husband Solomon and the family’s two cats, who were rescued from the Ukrainian war zone.