The Supporting Presence 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, neither shall the flame kindle
upon you. Isaiah 43 verse 2 What a diversity of afflictions
in this trial world! Waters, rivers, floods, flames,
fires—the Christian is here forewarned that he will encounter these
in some one of their innumerable phases, whether it be loss of
health, loss of wealth, loss of friends, baffled schemes,
or blighted hopes. But, blessed thought, these trials
have their limits. The floods will not overflow. The fires will not burn. The flames will not consume. God will stay His rough wind
in the day of His east wind. He will say, Thus far shall you
go, and no farther. And, better still, Jesus will
be in all these trials, and prove sufficient for them all. We shall
hear in the midst of the great fight of afflictions the sound
of our Master's footsteps. He himself has passed through
these flames, braved these floods, and bowed his guiltless head
to these storms. He comes to us, as He did to
His disciples, in the very midst of the tempest, and says, Fear
not, it is I. Do not be afraid. Believer, what
is your experience? Is it not that of the triumphant
Israelites? They went through the flood on
foot. There did we rejoice in Him.
the flood, the very scene of your trial. You were able to
march boldly through it, unafraid of the threatening waves, yes,
with your lips vocal with praise. How this moral heroism, this
strange rejoicing! It was because the God of the
pillar-cloud was at your side. Your rejoicing was in Him. He made you more than conqueror. You may have many adversaries
ranged against you. Tribulation, distress, persecution,
famine, nakedness, peril, sword, But there is one in the midst
of fires and flames and floods, mightier than all, and with him
at your side you can boldly utter the challenge to the heights
above and the depths beneath. Who shall separate me from the
love of Christ? O Sirs, says Thomas Brooks, there
is in a crucified Jesus something proportionable to all the difficulties,
needs, necessities, and trials of his poor people.