“When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up — the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God.” (Isaiah 43:2-3, TLB)
When you became a Christian, did you expect life to suddenly be easy? If you did, I bet you found out pretty quickly that Christians face all kinds of trials — including relational, financial, physical, and mental. Some people expect life to be heaven on earth. But this is not heaven!
We pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven — because then it would be done perfectly. But on earth, God’s will is seldom done. Everything on this planet is broken. The weather, the economy, our bodies, and our relationships don’t always work right. We can be sure that, because of sin, bad things will happen.
We can also be assured of God’s promises to support us in all the trouble we will face on this earth. “When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up — the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God” (Isaiah 43:2-3. TLB).
When you go through deep waters and rivers of difficulty, God doesn’t promise that you won’t get wet; sometimes life hurts. But God does promise that you’re not going to drown. When you go through the fire, it’s going to get hot. But God promises that you’re not going to burn up. You’re going to make it through.
Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose — I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace]” (AMP). That doesn’t mean that you can do anything because of who you are. It means you can have confidence in whatever trouble life brings because you face it with the power of Christ in you.
You may not feel very strong right now. But strength will come when you need it. The Bible doesn’t say to ask God for your weekly or monthly bread. It says to pray something like this: “God, give me my daily bread. I need just enough strength for today.”
God will support you in your trouble. He always gives you the strength you need for today.
Prayer
Lord, grant me Your strength and Your mercy so that I can get through this day. If it be Your will, do the same in the days that follow, as I cannot do it by myself. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Stay encouraged!
Pastor Mike
