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."
I was going over a Bible study about REST and it led me to this verse. As I read this verse that was already familiar to me, it made me pause and think about something I hadn't noticed until today. God was talking to the Israelites here and referring to them crossing the Red Sea and the River Jordan and the trials they had in getting to the Promised Land.
I noticed that even though I was doing a study on REST, the Israelites were not being told to BE STILL here, they were not being told to AVOID the situation. They were on a JOURNEY and they had to keep MOVING FORWARD. The REST part came in knowing that God was with them through all of it. He would not allow them to come to harm.
Personally, I have a hard time STOPPING. I am one of those people that stays up too late and wakes up too early with no naps in between. I can hardly sit and watch t.v. with my family because I am always thinking of things that I could be doing. At church (my ministry) - you will hardly ever find me doing nothing. It's just not in me. My friends joke that it's a sickness. haha
Now, don't get me wrong. I know that we all need to rest and it is a shortcoming of mine. But I have to WORK at RESTING. Isn't that crazy? I know. After reading this verse though, I know that when the hard times comes to try us, sometimes the best thing to do is just pass THROUGH the waters and walk THROUGH the fire. Sometimes, we aren't meant to avoid it or even go around it. I am trusting that God knows what is best for me and that passing THROUGH it is going to make me stronger.
So today, instead of asking God to take away the storms and the testing, I am going to acknowledge that I know He is there with me and He will help me to pass THROUGH it.
Isn't it a blessing when God speaks to you while reading his word. Hello friend, I am always seeing how you are doing through your blog.
ReplyDeleteI love it when God shows me something specifically like that and a light bulb goes off in my head and I think "Why didn't I see that before?" Just yesterday Joy and I were reading something and I had never noticed that 6 words in a verse made all the difference as to what that verse meant. It will be part of next Friday's post. It was exciting and made God's Word come alive!
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful wisdom you shared, Sherry! Thanks for sharing!
Have a great weekend! :)
Tammy
This is so true. I've heard several songs on the radio lately that seem to go right along with this post! When you go through something hard, God usually brings you out of it stronger.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you,
Joy
How is it that we are related? I have no problem stopping and resting. Actually I have a problem with getting up and going. Man I think I took all of the Lazy gene. :) I guess that just means we need to rub off on each other more :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post and picture. I'm like you, always moving, thinking. Thank you for reminding me the need to Rest.
ReplyDelete@Esther: It must be the whole Mary and Martha thing with you and me. lol =)
ReplyDelete