Carol J German

God is with you. May this be a comfort as you face your day. I know you are facing challenges, so am I. When you awaken in the morning, you don’t know what will unfold, but God does. He promises to never leave you alone (Hebrews 13:5).

His Word is filled with promises that you are never alone. In Isaiah 43:1-13, you see how God walks with you. Isaiah begins with asking you to “listen to the Lord who created you.”¹ He continues on by telling you to not be afraid. Why? Because God ransomed you, that’s why! He calls you by name for you are His.

God loves you deeply and personally.

Notice what God does for you in good days as well as bad days, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.” Remember this as you keep swimming deeper and deeper with God. “When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.”

His presence is your hope.

Even in times of injustice, “When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”

His presence restores what the world steals from you.

Isaiah continues to tells us that God is the Holy One, your Savior. May I add, God is also the lover of your soul. Look at verses 3 and 4, “I gave a ransom for your freedom. Others were given in exchange for you, I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to Me.”

“You are honored and God loves you.”⁴

When your day seems uncertain, God says, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”⁵

Look at what verses 5-7 say, “God gathers His children, those who believe and listen to Him; for I made them for my glory. It was I who created them.” If God created you for His glory then He has placed a calling within you that the world needs to experience. It is vital that you do your part.

Isaiah then reveals how the world can trip you up and keep you away from God’s presence.

Even if you love the world more than Jesus, God’s love doesn’t stop pursuing you. Even in sin, God says to gather those who are blind and deaf and gather them together; assemble everyone from around the world. God loves the world so much that He gave His only Son so you and I can have eternal life if we choose to believe and receive; see John 3:16, John 14:1-6 and John 15:5.

We see, from verse 9, that there are idols in this world. Isaiah questions if any idol can foretell the future. Can they predict what will happen tomorrow? “Who can verify that truth was spoken?” The only idol that God wants you to have is loving His Son and listening to the Holy Spirit. For God is the Living God!

When you do this, you become His witness, His servant who has been chosen. Chosen for what, you may ask?

“You have been chosen to know Me, believe in Me, and understand that I alone am God.”¹⁰

When you make this your focus, then life becomes more full and satisfied. God makes your soul content. For you see, “There is no other God. There never has been, and there never will be.”

“Yes, I am the Lord, and there is no other Savior.”¹¹

God says, “First, I predicted your rescue.” Sin separates you from Him. “Then, I saved you (by Jesus’ death and resurrection) and proclaimed it to the world.”¹²

Stop and let this truth change you: God is not embarrassed by you. God is not ashamed by the things you have done. Nope. God’s love is bigger than any sin you commit. By His Son, we are saved. It is a free gift of grace and mercy bestowed on you for simply looking up and saying yes. You and I would be fools to ignore such a gift from our Heavenly Father.

You become His witness to the world that reveals God’s love. God has given you an important calling. You and I need to be living it out. We are here for a specific purpose, in 2021, during a pandemic that is shaking the world up, to shine His love.

Need more convincing of His love for you? Look at the last verse, “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.” You are secure in God.

No matter what tomorrow holds, you can be sure that God is with you. Nothing takes God by surprise. He is already working things out where good will prevail. I encourage you to read Romans 8:28 and believe.