Friday, April 11, 2008

Words of Encouragement

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. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Isaiah 43:2-3

Walking over on dry ground. God is in the deep, part 2. This week, I gave the steps for walking through on "dry ground". Today’s scripture reinforces that message. I love how God's word will say something over and over again. Why? God’s word will reinforce itself so that we get the message. This scripture is reminding us of whom we can trust in. It's a scripture of comfort. It let's us know that yes, we will have to go through some things, but God is in control. He is able to handle everything we face.

When we pass through the water, He's with us. So when the "floods" of life come, we can get through it, because He is with us. Have you ever seen a raging river? When the waters are flowing, people have been sweep away, because they underestimated the force of the water. Sometimes that's what happens to us in this life, we underestimate the force of the raging rivers in our lives. But even in those situations, God says he will keep us from getting sweep away. He's able to pick you up out of the raging rivers and place you on a safe, dry ground.

When life turns up the heat on you, you don't have to get burned! Why? God is in control. Not only can He keep you from getting burned, he can keep back the smell of the fire off you. Think about the Hebrew boys in the furnace. They were in the midst of the fire, but they were not burned, and they were not loss, why? Because God was in the midst. Not only did they come out of the furnace, but also the Lord kept the flame from kindling them (or scorching their clothes). So we can go through life’s "fires" but we can come out FREE. Why? God is in control.
I don't have to walk around with anger, hurts, or anything that holds me in bondage, because I can come out of those fires, without even the scent of every having been in it.

WHY? Because the Holy One, the Savior, the LORD, GOD is in control. Praise His Holy Name! When you go to worship this week, know that victory is ahead of you. No matter what your situation is, God is already in the midst of it, waiting for you so he can see you through. God praising him for what he is already doing in you and what he will continue to do.