As I opened my eyes, these words echoed through my mind, “when you walk through the fire”. I obviously know what it means but I was wondering why the Holy Spirit was reminding me about it. The scripture in Isaiah 43:2 says

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.”

Do you realize that the scripture always has an overarching promise for you? God does not just promise you one thing, He covers you through and through. Think about it! When you are under water, how do you feel? Overwhelmed, nowhere to go, pressure putting you down with no sign or way of escape. The pressure of the water pushes you from all sides and you know the only way out is to go up but going up is still hard. That is the simulation of passing through the waters.

The words “pass through” means to go through a place for a short period of time before continuing your journey. So, we know that it will happen, it’s going to be a short while but it will be intense. I wondered why the bible used rivers and waters. I used to think they were the same, but I was wrong. The word ‘waters’ is interchangeable to seas. A sea is a large body of water while a river is a thin and long body of water. Let’s break this down. When you pass through the sea (large body of water), intense, no sight of the shoreline, no one around to offer help, all you see are more and more troubles around you, God is with you. Then when you go through the rivers, (thin and long body of water), years and years of trouble afflicting you, a slow flow of troubles, it’s not as pressing and overwhelming as the sea. If you stop in the middle, you start getting pressured. Instead you keep going with the flow. If you go against the current, it becomes very hard to swim. Through these types of rivers, God says that He is still with you. He is with you in every type of water. That’s an amazing promise.

Whenever I go through situations where I feel overwhelmed, I always tell God, “Lord give me your healing hug”. I love hugs, they are warm, and they make me feel secure. When God hugs you, you feel very refreshed. It's this blanket of knowing that everything will end well. The second part of that scripture says “When you walk through the fire you will not be burned, nor shall the flame burn you”. Can you think of anything that fire does not consume? But the Lord says you will not be burned. Fire is fast, it is hot, it hurts, it is uncomfortable, the smoke from it can kill a person, but through this God says He will be with you. Also, as you go through fire it will not burn you. There is always an effect of going through fire. You cannot go through it without being scorched, but the King of kings says you will not be scorched. Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel in the Bible did not get burned, their clothes and hair had no smell of smoke nor were they singed. That is how God will protect you when you are going through the fire.

Fire also refines, it is needed to transform and purify. It does not do so without pain, discomfort or heartache. Knowing this and also knowing that God is with you should give you hope. Think about this analogy. You want to lose weight, you work out in the gym or at home, you deprive yourself of certain foods and your muscles ache all the time. As this is self-imposed, you tend to fall-off the wagon when it gets too difficult and challenging. Instead, God’s version of purification is not on your own terms, you have no control whatsoever over the timeline, intensity and amount, you just have to go through it knowing that God is with you. He never said “if” you go through fire, He said, “When”. It is assured that you will, but who you become when He brings you out is what is important.

To everyone going through a season of water, rivers and fire, know that God is with you. It may not look or feel like it, but He is there. To help you stay assured during this time, read Thankfulness in Hardship and Joy and Laughter: Enjoying Life Even in Storms.