“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are MINE.
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... For I am the LORD your GOD, the HOLY ONE of Israel, your SAVIOR" - Isaiah 43:1-3 (NIV)
Don't Stop Moving
Fearfulness... sometimes when one thinks about all the things and people that they are up against and what is up against them, it can be almost paralyzing! BUT these days, I am recognizing something. I am relieved to know that when I pass through the waters, GOD will be with me and when I pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over me..."
That is good news to me! 'Things' come and always will but we can be assured that 'there will be Glory after this!' Even when we walk through the fire, the Word Promises that we won't be burned. ABBA promises to be with us just like HE was with the three Hebrews in Nebuchadnezzar's furnace! And IF HE is with us when we go through the furnace, we will come out just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3 - unsigned and not even smelling like smoke.
The thing that has been repeating to me in Isaiah 43 (and in Daniel 3) was 'movement'... I think that is the lesson for me here today.
Don't Stop Moving! Isaiah tells us that GOD's message to us is "... when you p-a-s-s through the waters... when you
p-a-s-s through the rivers... when we w-a-l-k through the fire... HE will be with us! So, don't stop moving!
In Daniel 3, when King Nebuchadnezzar looked in the furnace, he said he saw FOUR men WALKING around. Those Hebrew men didn't allow that incredibly frightening circumstance to stop their trust or belief in our Almighty GOD. They believed that GOD would be with them - even in the fire and they didn't stop moving. Don't stop moving! The same way GOD was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; the same way HE was with Moses and Joshua; the same way GOD was with Daniel, HE will be with you and me! ABBA told Isaiah to tell you and me that HE will be with us! Through the Fire and the Flood - GOD The FATHER will be with us!
A few years ago, my Pastor, Anthony G. Maclin preached a sermon, "Don't Mess with My Momentum!" At the beginning of the sermon, he provided the definition of the word, 'momentum'...
Momentum - the force or energy that something (or someone) has when it is moving; the strength or force that allows something (or someone) to continue to grow stronger or faster as time passes.
Momentum - growing stronger as time passes! Do NOT stop moving! GOD has not given up on you! Do not give up on yourself!
I didn't think about it when I was watching Charlton Heston in the Ten Commandments but, in all honesty, if I was one of the Israelites at the Red Sea, I might not have been immediately inclined to "walk through the waters..." I may very well have run in the opposite direction - right back into the hands of my enemies. Or - I may have stood stock still - and ended up in the hands of my enemies. The Good News is that GOD knows that about us! When the Egyptians were pursuing them, GOD got between the Israelites and their enemy in a pillar of fire, which actually served two purposes:
A. It blocked the Egyptians - stopping their momentum;
B. It pushed the Israelites forward - INCREASING their momentum!
B. It pushed the Israelites forward - INCREASING their momentum!
So I will offer (and take) this lesson from Shadrach (and 'em), and the Israelites, and Isaiah:
WHEN GOD gives you a push - DO NOT STOP!
I will push through my fear and the paralysis of not doing because, like Isaiah said in chapter 43, GOD knows my name and has redeemed me to HIMSELF! WHEN I pass through the fire, HE IS with me!
Whatever you are facing - - Don't stop moving!
Whatever is facing you - Please - Don't stop moving!
Keep Praying! Keep Trusting! Keep Believing!
Do NOT Stop!!!
Val Crawford
Contributing Writer
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