When You Pass Through the Waters

Send us a text

Support the show

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to Beyond Sunday, andthanks for joining me for day 13
of our anchored in God'sPromises series.
This month, we're starting eachday with one unshakable truth
from God's word, something tohold onto no matter what the day
holds.
Today's verse is a promise forthe moments when life feels like
it's too much, when the wavesare high, when the fire is hot,
when you wonder if you're goingto make it through.

(00:22):
It's Isaiah 43, 2, and it saysthis when you pass through the
waters.
I will be with you.
And when you pass through therivers, they will not sweep over
you.
When you walk through the fire,you will not be burned.
The flames will not set youablaze.
Notice the first word when Goddoesn't say, if you face deep
waters or fire.

(00:42):
He says, when life will bringoverwhelming moments, following
Jesus doesn't exempt us fromtrials.
It prepares us to walk throughthem with a promise in hand.
The Christian life isn't aboutavoiding hardship.
It's about never facing italone.
The first image that he gives usis water, floods, and rivers
that threaten to sweep us away.

(01:05):
For Israel, this imagery waspersonal.
They had crossed the Red Sea,they had crossed the Jordan
River.
Both were impossible momentsuntil God made a way.
When the verse says, I will bewith you, it's not poetic fluff.
It's a literal reminder.
God steps into the deep with us.
He doesn't shout instructionsfrom the shore.

(01:26):
He wades into the current andholds us steady.
If you feel like you're barelykeeping your head above water
today, remember this, God is notwatching you drown.
He's holding you fast.
Then Isaiah switches to theimage of fire.
Fire is consuming.
It burns everything in its path,but here God promises that you

(01:46):
will not be burned.
The story of Shadrach, Meshach,and ab Bindigo in Daniel three
comes to mind.
They refused to bow down to theKing's Idol.
They were thrown into a furnace,and yet they didn't burn.
Not even the smell of smoke wason them, and why?
Because there was another in thefire with them.
God doesn't promise to removeevery flame, but he does promise

(02:06):
to keep the flames fromdestroying you.
A friend once told me about aseason where his business
collapsed, his marriage wasstruggling, and his health took
a turn all in the same year.
He said it felt like I wasdrowning and burning at the same
time.
But as he looked back later, herealized he had never felt God's
presence more clearly than itwas in that seasons.

(02:28):
Friends showed up, unexpectedprovision came, peace that made
no sense, filled his nights.
Sometimes the miracle isn't thatGod pulls you out instantly.
It's that he holds you togetherin the middle of it.
So here's your challenge fortoday.
Think about the water or firethat you're facing right now.
Maybe it's stress or grief.

(02:49):
Uncertainty.
Maybe it's conflict.
Name it.
Then speak this promise over it.
I will not be swept away.
I will not be burned.
God is with me.
Say it until it sinks into yoursoul.
Let's pray.
Father, thank you that no matterhow high the waters rise and how
hot the fires burns, you arewith us.

(03:10):
You are a protector.
Our keeper and our refugestrengthen our hearts today to
trust you.
Not just to deliver us from thetrial, but to hold us steady
through it.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Thanks again for joining metoday on Beyond Sunday.
If today's verse encouraged you,text that verse to someone who's
facing their own waters or fire.

(03:30):
They might just need thereminder that they're not alone.
I'll see you back here tomorrow.