The Promise of Presence
The promise of presence
Isaiah 43:2 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.
In this text we see a beautiful promise, God is with us. You might be tempted to ask, what about through life trails? The anser remains the same, God is with us. We might ask, what if the world is against us? The promise remains the same.
The context of Isaiah 43 is about God's protection of his people, they are about to go into exile as punishment for rebellion, but God promises that even though they may feel forsaken he is still with them.
Notice the differenct scenarios God gives:
- "When thou pass through water" Have you ever felt like you're drowning? Your work life is a wreck, your home life is chaotic, you have no time to breathe. God is with you. Even though you feel as if the water has risen above your head, God is with you.
- "When thou walk through the fire, thou shalt not be consumed" God does not promise that firy trail will not come, only they will not consume us.
“The godly have the best company in the worst places…1” Since we have given are lives to Jesus, we will never walk alone.
Today I want to give you 1 truth about God's presence:
God's presence preserves.
Isaiah 43:2 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.
God does not promise that we will not go through the fire, he does promise that we will not be consumed by it.
Fire and water are often used as symbols of judgement in the Old Testament, it was by water that he destroyed the earth in the story of Noah's ark. And it is by fire that he will destroy the world in the last day.
However, because we are his people, we never have to fear God's wrath.
Fire and water are also symbols of purification in the Bible. We are told in the book of Malachi the God's fire purifies us the way a silversmith purifies silver.
The process simple, silversmith heats the silver and burns away all impurities. The way he knows that his work is finished is when he can see his own reflection.
We are not able to withstand this heat not through our own strength but because God is with us.
Jesus our Shepherded
Throughout the Bible Jesus is depicted as a shepherd, when you think about how a shepherd does his job you realize that it perfectly describes the ministry of Jesus.
Shepherd lives among his flock Isaiah 40:10-11
“Behold, the Lord God will come with a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him. and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”
Since Jesus is our shepherd, we never have to feel alone or abandon because we know that Jesus is:
- Jesus is the Good Shepherd in John 10:11-5, because he gave his life for his flock.
- Jesus is the great Shepherd in because he victorious over every enemy Hebrews 13:20
- Jesus is the Chief Shepherd in 1 Peter 5:4, because at the end of time he will divide the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-33)
Because we have given our lives to Jesus we are never alone. You might say, but I feel alone and I feel abandoned. But according to the Bible we are bound to Jesus.
I'm reminded of a song.
I have a friend of such a friend who loved me ere I knew him and with his cords of love thus he bound me to him around my heart so closely tied those ties which nought can sever for I am his and he is mine forever and forever
How are we bound to Jesus?
- Through regeneration, you were once spiritually dead but by the blood of Christ you've been made alive.
- Through sanctification, you were a slave to sin, but Jesus set you free.
- Through glorification, one day Jesus is coming back to set us free from the very presence of sin so that we may live with him and enjoy his presence forever.
I want us for a moment to look at every other relationship outside of her family that we have. What ties you to these people?
- Is it a political affiliation?
- do you happen to like the same sports team
- is it about your sexual orientation?
- do you watch the same TV shows?
All those things are temporal and could change at a moment's notice. One day you're in and the next day you're out.
But our connection with Jesus is eternal and cannot ever be broken. Not because we are the spiritual elite, but because he is a great savior.