Isaiah 43 reveals who God is and how He feels about us. Here are the big takeaways:
- God is our Protector. Because He is our Protector we don’t have to be afraid. Isaiah 43:1 says “Fear not.” Verse 5 says, “Don’t be afraid.” God is our Heavenly Father, and He is perfect. Whether you have had a good earthly father or not, God is the kind of Father who will protect you when the storms of life come. If you are living in fear, perhaps it isn’t the circumstances of your life that explain that fear. Maybe the problem is connected to the relationship or lack of relationship you have with God as your Heavenly Father. If so, perhaps your attention shouldn’t be on trying to fix your circumstances but on trying to fix you relationship with God.
- God is a Personal Savior. Verses 3-4 God offered a ransom of sorts to Persia, a reward for releasing the Jewish captives. God helped Persia conquer many heathen nations and blessed Israel in the process. Heathen peoples were sacrificed during the times when the safety of Israel required it. Israel, remember, represents the people who belong to God. If you are in Christ, you are part of what the NT calls the New Israel. You are precious to God. You are priceless to God. God loves you.
Not only does He offer a personal salvation, but He is with you in a personal way throughout your life. God is always lining up things in your life to help you succeed. He puts people in your path, moves and shifts appointments around, and orders your steps in terms of what kinds of life opportunities and circumstances can help you grow and help you show others who He is. He gives you favor with people to help you advance and walk through doors that seem closed in the natural. He knows your anxieties and fears and places reminders of His love and presence in your life along the way to keep you connected to His peace.
- God is a Pioneer of Pathways.Verse 16: “This is what the LORD says– he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters…”
God literally parted an entire sea for 2 million people to be able to pass through on dry ground, and He even did it under pressure with an enemy army coming after them to try to take them out. If you are a sincere Christ-follower you are never between a rock and a hard place without hope. You are never out of options because God is a Way-maker.
- God is a Preparer of new and greater things. Verses 18-19“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” If God is removing something from your life it is because He is bringing something new into your life. And if God is removing you from a place or a relationship or a life-experience it is because He wants to do something new in your life.
God is about abundant life and blessing and miracles beyond what we can even conjure up in our imaginations. “No eye has seen. No ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (I Corinthians 2:9). Look at verse 19 again: “SEE, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” God is saying, “Can’t you see what I am up to?” We need to be people who look through eyes of faith and not eyes of fear.
If God is our Protector, our Savior, and is the Pioneer of Pathways, we need to look for Him. We need to see Him when we need rescue. We need to look to Him for salvation, and we need to believe He is up to something new that can be celebrated and told to future generations for the building up of their faith when they go through the water and through the fire.
Make it a great week as you hold to God’s unchanging hand!
Pastor Melissa
Rev. Dr. Melissa Pratt
Teays Valley Church of God
6979 Teays Valley Road
Scott Depot, WV 25560
304-757-9222
