“You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you… When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned… For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior,” and don’t forget, “you are mine.” Isa. 43:1-3
Heavenly Father, there aren’t three more precious words in the entire Bible than these: “You are mine”—with you doing the speaking, and us being receiving. They are true because of the Gospel. Today, we ask you to make them real in our metaphorical and actual “waters,” “rivers,” and “fires.”
Abba, thank you for being upfront with us. There’s not a single “if,” but 3 “when’s,” as you speak about difficult circumstances in our “pre-Jesus’-return” lives. Brokenness is more normative than rare, as we sojourn Home. Disappointed and saddened, yes; but we shouldn’t be shocked when we encounter things breaking, people failing, “creation groaning,” families stressing, our bodies weakening, the world “upheaval-ing.”
Is having peace in all this “stuff” possible? Yes, thankfully, Yes. But only because of your promise, “I will be with you.” Never forsaken by you, no separation from your love ever, an outcome beyond all our imagining… thank you, Father. Our call isn’t to live as stoics, but to live as yours. Give us grace to do exactly that.
We rest in the certainty and mystery of your sovereign rule—over our pains and pleasures, our laments and laughs, our messes and miracles. No “rivers,” “waters,” or “fires” are ultimate; only you and your Kingdom are, Abba. So Very Amen.