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.
Isaiah 43:2
One verse, but it’s packed with at least four truths for us. We are not alone. Multiple times in scripture, God promises to walk alongside us and never leave us. There will be trials and tribulations in this lifetime; we will be faced with challenges, painful moments, and heartaches. We will survive: these challenges and tribulations won’t overtake us.
The last one is the promise that comes in the word “through” – which appears three times in this verse. I realized the power of this little word – “through” – when my dad was preparing to walk the streets of gold with Jesus after a decade long battle with cancer. That time, the truth came to me in Psalm 23:
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. This word brought on a whole new meaning. There was time before, and there was time after, but this time of the “shadow of death” was temporary. It was a passing. It was a moment, not eternity. And that’s the promise that is here for us in Isaiah 43:2 as well. We will walk through the waters, through the rivers, through the fire, but these aren’t permanent states of being for us. While we don’t know how long the current trial or tribulation will last, we do know that God will walk by our side, and that it will be temporary because we will get through that moment. God has already claimed victory over the grave. He’s already told us that the battle is won. Let us cling to that promise today and every day: that the trials of this life are temporary and we will indeed come through them – to eternal life because the victory has already been won.
Katie Pond '05