Isaiah 43:1b-3a – “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”
Jayme Closs has become a household name in recent days. She is the 13-year-old girl who was rescued from her abductor in Gordon, Wisconsin this past week. 88 days earlier her parents were shot and killed and she was taken hostage. The worst nightmare for any family. Like her parents, it was feared that she too, had been killed. What exuberant joy to hear that she was safe. God’s promises were true for her. The Lord truly was with her.
The prophet, Isaiah promises God’s people that while they will experience danger and heartbreak through rising water and blazing flame, He will not abandon them. While the waters and flames in your life may not be as traumatic as that of Jayme Closs, we daily face danger, uncertainty, and heart ache. The devotion that was shared from Lutheran Hour ministries this past Tuesday does a great job of concisely describing how our loving and tender Lord goes with us through the waters and into the flames. This was written by Cari Vo and shared by Lutheran Hour speaker Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler.
One of the hardest things to explain to a non-Christian, at least for me, is what we mean when we say that God saves us. I don’t mean the whole business about Jesus dying for us so we can be forgiven and don’t need to worry about going to hell. I mean the day-by-day, hour-by-hour experience of having Jesus as our Savior-of experiencing His help-of knowing Him as our Redeemer.
To non-Christians, this looks really weird. Here we are, asking for God’s help, and yet as far as they can see, we all have the same terrible experiences they do. We lose people we love to death. We get heart disease or cancer. We lose jobs, have car accidents, suffer from mental illness. If God is our Savior, then what exactly is He saving us from? What kind of saving is He doing?
We can hardly blame them for asking.
The prophet Isaiah gives words to what we know as Christians, even if we can’t express it. God says through Isaiah, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”
Notice what God doesn’t say. He doesn’t say, “When you pass through the waters, I will roll them back on either side so that when you can go through them you won’t even get wet.” God did this for the people of Israel when they were escaping the Egyptians, but He never promised to do it for us. Again, notice how He says, “When you walk through the fire you shall not be burned.” He never says, “I will cause the fire to go out–before you ever set foot in it.”
No, God never promises to prevent us from having terrible experiences. He does promise to save us through them-to prevent them from destroying us. And He promises that we will not be alone. He will be with us, right through the whole thing.
That may not sound like much to a non-Christian. But to a believer, it means everything. We are not alone; God has not abandoned us. We don’t have to do it on our own. Even when we must face death, we do it with God at our side, with Jesus leading the way. After all, He is the One who went through suffering and death ahead of us-and came out the other side. He knows the way, and when we are with Him, we do not need to be afraid.
What are the fiery coals over which you may have to walk? For youth the list might include: Drugs, being bullied, peer pressure, grades, safety on the road, emotional well-being and mental and physical and spiritual health. Other fiery coals upon which we may have to walk include injury or illness that put one’s job or life at risk. Loss of hearing, blurred vision, and a foggy memory make life a daily challenge for individuals and those who care for them. We can feel like we are alone in the midst of the storms of life.
During His earthly ministry we see how He had authority over the wind and the waves. He told the frightened disciples the same message that Isaiah proclaims. Do not be afraid. He has rescued us from much more than the physical waves and the fiery coals. Recall also how the Old Testament faithful came through the fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down in worship to King Nebuchadnezzar.
He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics,[d] their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
They came out of the furnace unscathed, no singed hair or burned clothing. They didn’t even smell of smoke. Nebuchadnezzar then ordered that anyone who spoke against the God of these three be cut in pieces and their houses made an ash heap. Not only was the Lord with them to protect them in the flames, He also used it as a way to change the heart of the king. People are watching as you go through adversity. What will they see in you? To whom do you belong?
The fourth “person” in the fiery furnace was likely the pre-incarnate Christ. Jesus – before He was born. This is the One who promises to also be with you in the fiery trials of your life. He has rescued us from much more than the physical waves and the fiery coals.
How should we respond when we find ourselves in rising water or walking into blazing flames of suffering. We are to follow the example of Job who did not listen to his friends who told him to “curse God and die.” Rather, when he had lost everything, his family, his fortune, even his health, he declared, “the Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the Lord.”
In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” We ask similar questions. What did I do to deserve this? OR Why do bad things happen to good people? A better question is, “Why do good things happen to bad people?” Why is God so gracious to us poor miserable sinners?
Peter also gives us perspective when dealing with adversity. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Jesus began to take the heat for us in His baptism. When the voice declared “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased,” the Father placed a bullseye on Jesus. Not long after His baptism Jesus is led by the devil into the wilderness where He fasted for forty days. At the end of forty days, the devil questioned the Father’s Word and Jesus identity as the very Son of God. “If you are the Son of God.” Jesus is who the Father declared Him to be even as He gave Him authority to heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, and even raise the dead. More than all of this, Jesus took on the form of a servant being obedient to the Law in every, even to the point of death. He was the perfect sacrifice for our sin.
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus took our sin to the cross and there He endured the eternal punishment that we deserved. Prior to His arrest Jesus, sweating drops of blood prayed that this cup of suffering might pass from Him and He added, “not my will, but Yours be done.” The bitter cup of suffering Jesus endured for our sin.
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Baptism is a means of grace. Baptism delivers Jesus’ work on the cross to us. In Christ, your sins are forgiven. No matter how serious or slight, your sins are washed away. They are covered with Christ’s robe of righteousness given you at your baptism. Because Jesus lives, you need not fear death. Just as the Father was pleased with His perfect Son and declared it so, He is also pleased with you as you are covered in Christ’s righteousness in your baptism. He has called you by name and you belong to Him. Your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life in heaven. He loves you. He is with you when the waters rise and as the flames grow hot.
New and eternal life are yours in your baptism into Christ. After Jesus our judge and savior died for us on the cross, He broke the bonds of death and rose to new life. The tomb is empty. He has risen. Your Baptism not only credits Jesus’ death to your account, but the resurrection from the dead also belongs to you. Jesus, by His suffering and death, not only paid the full penalty for your sin, but He also earned eternal life for you. You need not be afraid, for He is with you.
– “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”