Has God ever made a way for you before? Have you ever stood on the edge of impossible and seen it unfold?

Have you been touched by his mighty power in the past? Has his power brought about provision for you? Somehow you made it through.

Have you experienced divine appointments only he could have arranged? You were somehow in the right place at the right time for it to happen.

Have you ever felt the guidance of the Holy Spirit, giving you strength which was not your own? Empowered to somehow keep going when every ounce of you wanted to give up.

Yes?

He’s made a way for you before?
He’s empowered you before?
He’s guided you before?
He’s strengthened you before?

Won’t he do it again?

He is the way maker. He is the promise keeper. He is the light in the darkness.

And honey, this darkness is NOT TOO MUCH FOR HIM! He’s not backing down from this. He’s not overwhelmed or overpowered. No, he is OVER ALL and he is IN ALL. His promises still stand and right here in the middle of this, he is making a way.

I don’t just mean this in general. No, he is specifically making a way through your personal darkness. He is at work for YOU, individually, personally.

Remember, he’s done it before.
Never forget how he has saved you before.
Never forget how he has guided you in past storms.
Never forget how he has provided what was needed.
Never forget how he has strengthened you through it all.
Never forget what he has brought you through.

Now, won’t he do it again?

Isaiah 43 is a reminder and a promise from God.

But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:

God is so personal you can insert your name here. He is the one who created you Kim. He is the one who formed you Angela. This is for you Jennifer. Jessica, he is speaking to you. Insert your name. You are the one he created. He formed you. He made you by his own hands by his own divine design, and this is his personal message to you:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

God has called you by name and made you his own. You belong to him.

When something belongs to you, it becomes your responsibility. If you have a car, it is your responsibility to take care of that car. Why? Because it belongs to you. It’s on you to lock the doors. It’s on you to fill it with gas. If it’s going to get washed, then you’ll be the one washing it. It is yours.

And God says, YOU ARE HIS. He takes full responsibility for you. Your days are under his care. He knows every detail of your life, he is fully aware of every hair on your head as well as every worry in your head.

He paid a high price for you, the price of his son. Hasn’t he proven his level of responsibility for you? Hasn’t he proven his care when he calls you his own, backed by his action? He has redeemed you fully.

And what does God say our response to this should be? DO NOT FEAR.

This is an act of trust. We are called to trust God because of what he has done and what he has promised to do. Because we are his.

Fear is strongest in the darkness. Isn’t it funny how everything gets scarier in the dark? Watch a scary movie in a fully lit theater and it’s nearly silly. Turn off the lights and suddenly it’s scary. The same noises that terrify you at night aren’t even given a second thought in the light of day.

If you are in darkness right now, in a time when you can’t see your way, remember this, Jesus is the light you’re searching for. He is the only one who can show you the way through this. He said in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

This is how we can walk through this without fear. We follow Jesus. He lights the way in this darkness.

Back to our scripture Isaiah 43, verse 2 says:

2 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.

God never promised you wouldn’t have to pass through these waters. He never said the waters wouldn’t be too deep for you to walk through. He never said the seas would be calm. He never said there wouldn’t be rivers of circumstances that would threaten to overwhelm you. He never said you wouldn’t face the flames and feel the heat. He never said fire wouldn’t threaten all you have.

No, in fact he said WHEN. When it happens, you have a promise.

And my sister, we’re just in the middle of the “when”.

The deep waters are here, and he is with us.
The seas are not calm, in fact those waves ahead are huge and threatening, but Jesus is in our boat.
The river of circumstances feel overwhelming, but we will not be swept away in this. His hand is on us.
The fire is hot and the flames are real, but we are protected here.
We are surrounded by darkness, but Jesus is our light.

What’s truly interesting is this scripture was written hundreds of years after these events happened. Hundreds of years after God parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross. Hundreds of years after the 3 young men who believed in God were thrown into the fiery furnace and saved from the flames.

It had already happened. Yet God is saying to the one who I formed, the one I created with my own hands, WHEN these things happen, I will be there. I will save you.

God is calling us to remember. Remember what he has done for others, he will do for you. Remember what he has done in the past, he will do it again.

Life is a perpetual roller coaster ride. Everything is okay, then it’s not. And then somehow with a little time we’re back in a place of being okay. This is life. Up, down, then back up again.

How can we learn to trust God in all of it? How can we remind ourselves he’s always made a way through it all and he’s not about to stop now?

We look back and we remember. We remember what he has done in the past and we count on him for our future.

Storms come. Storms go. God never leaves.

Fires rage. Fires cease. God is in it all.

He made a way before, he will make a way again.
He is true to his word.