walk through the fire...

"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.

For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."

Isaiah, the prophet of Israel who lives thousands of years ago wrote this on behalf of God.

God doesn't say that we won't pass through rivers or fire...but that as we do, he will be with us and will not let us be consumed. That is the promise revealed through the prophets and through Immanual, God with us -- one of the names given to Jesus. Jesus even made a promise on his own behalf before he assended into heaven -- "I will be with you, even to the end of the age."

There is nothing that can take this promise away from someone who desires God to be near...not cancer, alcoholism, divorce, broken friendships, broken families, lost jobs, miscarrieage...not even death itself.

To trust in God is to trust this reality. That no matter what I am experiencing, I trust His presence. If I can't trust that reality in the darkest of times, then I don't trust Him at all. If my trust is based on my circumstances, then...

Learning to trust,

Matt