Kept 2

Kept 2

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Isaiah 43:2 KJV

The backdrop to today's extract wasn't so palatable. God had punished his own people for their sin, but now He was promising them new beginnings. Let it be said again that when it comes to sin, God has no favourites; He will punish sin, no matter in whom it is found. That has been the standard since the Garden of Eden, and will be the same till the second Adam returns.

God promises that He will redeem His people. No man can save Himself; we all stand here simply by God's grace and mercy and these are the daily realities we must have if we are to survive the coming flood. Today's extract makes it clear that being in God does not insure you from tough times; you are only promised protection and safety IN them, not FROM them. The word used is WHEN, not IF. The waters are coming and they will rise against you. The rivers will flow and threaten to overflow: the fires will burn and rage. Those are guaranteed realities of life; the promise, however, is that none of these things can shake or dispel the equilibrium of God's presence inside of you, IF you have Him.

They will rise, flow and burn, but you will not be swept away. It is very likely that things that gave you comfort will be swept away, but this is so that you can focus on God alone as your strength. The things of this world are fleeting; nothing permanent, so it is dangerous to tie your safety to anything the world offers. Find God and rest in and on Him. The reason why you can look forward to the coming storms is in the first part of today's extract: "I will be with thee". When God is with you, the size, quality, quantity and frequency of the storms don't matter; you are kept by the One who can, with a single word, silence all the storms. Find Him, and rest in Him. His time of favour is here.