MOMENTS OF TRIAL AND DIFFICULTY

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Isaiah 43:2 when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Isaiah 40: 31 but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

The promises of God in Isaiah 43:2 are very instructive indeed. The assurances are not that we will not pass through the waters or walk through the fire! It can indeed be deduced from the scripture that it is a given that we will pass through these moments. The guarantees we do have are that:

1.         He will always be with us

2.         That the rivers will never overflow us

3.         We shall not be burnt by the fire nor the flame kindle upon us.

We have a guarantee of God’s presence. The importance of God’s presence with us can never be overemphasized. That is why Moses said in Exodus 33:15-16 And he said unto him, if thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

From the scripture above, it is evident that Gods presence is a mark of His GRACE upon a life. Secondly, it is mark reserved for Gods people. When the presence of God is around a life, darkness can never come near such a life. They may swirl around at a distance but never will they be able to permeate such a life. John 1:5 says, And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. The Dark ones can never comprehend a life that has Gods presence for God himself is light. Proverbs 4:18 says, the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The presence of the lord with a life is the one that brings forth this shining light on the path. This is evidenced in the life of Moses and the entire nation of Israel in Exodus 13:21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:. The presence of the Lord with the Israelites provided light in different forms by day and night! This light firstly provided vision and secondly it waded of darkness – which is the enemy. A life with Gods presence can never be penetrated by the enemy irrespective of whatsoever is going on around Him. This assurance is given in Psalm 91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall come nigh thee. Turbulences might be happening all around, but a believer will not be shaken and this is as the Psalmist says in Psalm 62:6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

The scripture is replete with events where Gods presence calmed the rage of the enemies heading at Hos children. Two instances will be looked at here. The first instance being the 3 Hebrew children Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego. Gods was present with them in the fire and just as the promise in Isaiah 43:2, the fire neither burnt them nor was it kindled upon them. This can be seen in Daniel 3. In the new testament, there was raging storm all around the boat that had Jesus and the Disciples in, His presence with them was a guarantee that no matter how raging the storm was, the river was never going to overflow or overwhelm them and this is clear from Jesus’ statement after he had rebuked the storm in Mark 4:40 And he said unto them, why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? It was recorded that the storm beat upon the ship. This shows us that the enemy will rage, will also try to rock our faith, but irrespective of whatever it is that is thrown at us, Gods assurances still hold true.

Finally if we remain steadfast and wait on the Lord through the difficult and trying moments we are sure to mount up with wings as eagles. We are sure to exceed all expectations, we are also sure to go way beyond our limitations! This assurance is given in Isaiah 40:31. The trying moments are simply moments of refinement! That’s why God allows us to go through them, yet while going through them he assures us of His presence with us.