"Don't be afraid - I will save you.." Isaiah 43:1b-3a

God never promises us a life without difficulty, in fact, he promises us that He will be with us ‘through’ the difficulty.  His promise says that “He will save us” and we are not to let fear overtake us and be the means by which we define our lives.  

Fear is always calling out to us and telling us that God cannot be trusted because we can see the difficulties that lie ahead of us, but we must trust God by faith and not by sight.

Hard times will come, as well as trials which test us and refine our resolve to trust Him, but when we place our confidence in the Lord there is nothing formed against us which will prosper.

I did a short word study this morning of the words in this Psalm and found it most revealing.

This verse above starts out that with the statement “Do not be afraid” which is stated from the outset.

Fear is pervasive and ubiquitous, it infects much like a virus and can take hold and spread.  But unlike a virus, we can stop fear in its tracks by placing our trust and confidence in the Lord.  The word fear in this case is speaking of beholding the ‘awe of the Lord’, what He is saying is in effect is “because I am a big God and can do mighty things, don’t let that stop you or intimidate you from coming to me.”  That is the type of fear it is speaking of.

The Lord says here that ”He calls us by name,” it is amazing that God knows each and every one of us by our name and calls out to us.  He is speaking this is the present active form which is a verb “I have called…” which means [to summon, invite, call for, call and commission, appoint, call and endow.]  “…by name”  which means by [reputation, fame, glory, or memorial].  He calls (invites) us by name knowing our reputation because we belong to Him.

“When you pass through deep waters…” the words which describe this are [to pass through, traverse (the parts of a victim in covenant)] our deep waters are the old lives we have left behind and died to, for we are in covenant with the Lord passing into this new life and are moving forward trusting Him to take us to our new home in Him.  

“I will be with you,” These words are self-explanatory, as we make this trek with Jesus, He has committed to be with us throughout the journey.  

The description of rivers (or troubles) overwhelming us speaks of [streams, (underground) streams,] there are so many things in our lives which lie beneath the surface, and the Lord assures us that these (underground streams) though threatening as they may seem will not overwhelm us when they reach the surface of our awareness.  As Jesus sheds light into the darker recesses of our lives He is there with us assuring us that we will not be overcome by the force of emotion or pain rendering us out of control, because He is our healer and our peace.

“When you pass through fire…” could be rendered “when you die to yourself and pass through the ‘supernatural fire’ you will not be [scorched] or burned."  We can trust that everything that God has designed for us is there in our lives so that we can draw nearer to Him, He has all of our life closely guarded in His hands.

“The hard trials that come will not hurt you.”  Could be rendered “The [tip of the weapon, point, head of the spear] will not [consume, (or) destroy] you.

For I am the Lord your God, [Yahweh] the holy God of Israel, [Elohiym] who saves you… [yasha`]”

The name “I am” is known as the ‘existing one’ and is the proper name of the one true God.  

• We use the name “Yahweh” or "Jehovah" as a transliteration for “I am”.  
• The name “Elohiym” is the masculine noun of the name of God which is in a plural form “rulers, judges, or divine ones.”
• The name “Yasha’” is a verb which literally means [to be liberated, be saved, be delivered, to be saved (in battle), be victorious] 

Yasha’ is where we get the name Yashua or Jesus which is the noun form of the name which means (the Lord is our Salvation.)

What we have represented here in these verses in Isaiah is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit shown as one who knows our name, Who reveals who we are in Him, and what our role with Him as His child and part of His family.  

When we put to death to the old self (sin nature) and experience new life in Christ He is with us and in us. When the hidden areas of our lives begin to be exposed by His light it will not overwhelm us, because we know His healing and peace. 

When a weapon is formed against us in the trials we face, (especially as we surrender our old nature to the Lord) it will not consume or destroy us, because Jesus is with us and in us and He fights our battles.  

The Lord is our salvation.

This truly is an amazing prophecy!  And the reality we live as followers of Christ.

Be Blessed;

Stephen Barnett