Passing through the waters

“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
If there’s one promise to us that frequently gets overlooked, it’s the promise that we will face trouble and persecution while we are in this world (John 16:33, 2 Tim. 3:12). It’s inevitable – when we come to Christ, we switch sides of the spiritual battle, and we are now on enemy territory.
Isaiah paints three pictures for us, which may be likened to different events in Israel’s history. They passed through the waters of the Red Sea. They passed through the river of Jordan. Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego walked through the fire and were not harmed. In all cases it was because God preserved them. They still had to pass through these things, but God kept the elements from destroying them.
God will be with us through everything we face. Consider what Paul faced in his lifetime: imprisonment, whippings, beatings, stoning, shipwrecks, constant danger, sleeplessness, hunger, thirst, destitution (2 Cor. 11:23-29). Yet he never gave up on the Lord. He knew that God was with him (c.f. Acts 23:11, Acts 27:23-24). And God is with us, too. We just need to trust Him.