Faithful

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.

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43: 1-3, 18-20

A couple years ago, these verses jumped off the page of my bible at me right at a time when I desperately needed to hear them, but when I was so emotionally distraught I could barely make sense of them. This past week I have been reminded of them in a newsletter I receive, on the back of a card I was sending to a friend and again this morning on a website I was visiting. I hear you, God... I need to revisit these verses. At the time I first really noticed them, I said out loud to God, "No. I do not perceive it! I can see no way that you can make a way through this wilderness!" But I knew there was something big in these words, something meant for me, and I copied them into my journal while God etched them on my heart. What I found over the next few months was that it was okay not to FEEL God or to be able to SEE where He is leading you, as long as you choose every day to believe that God is there, loving you, walking with you and you choose to take the next step with Him. The verses don't promise you won't experience pain (that promise is nowhere to be found in scripture)... but just that God will be with you through it... and that it won't destroy you.

I have found these words of Isaiah's to be true! God is faithful. And I have seen Him produce that river of water right in the middle of my desert. I wish I didn't have to find out the hard way... but I'd go through it all again if it meant I would know God the way I do today.

I was saving this picture for another post I have brewing in my mind.... but I feel like sharing it now. This is a verse I copied down at some point and it floated around my car for so long, I finally stuck it to my visor.