FEAR NO EVIL 2

But now, thus says the LORD, who created you. O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. Isaiah 43:1-2 NKJV

Welcome back to the Fire Place! It’s been a long time since we brought you words from the Lord. We are glad to be back home to the place of sharing the heart of God with you in this special moment of time, before the coming of The Lord. We started a series earlier this year tagged “Fear No Evil”. It started as a burden God placed in my heart as a result of the situations some of the people around me were going through at a time earlier this year; the words kept coming from the Lord strongly until it became impossible not to share it with His chosen ones.

Since we know that whenever God shows up to visit Jacob in the Bible, He definitely has Israel in mind; we have therefore decided to herald the reality of this ancient pathway in God with everyone that cares to have a look. In the previous episode, we explored Psalms 23:4 as an introductory verse that explains the reality of God’s pathways that brings men into dark times and seasons and also the ever steadfast provision of God’s love that is constant through this important season of our lives. In this new episode, The Lord will further open our eyes to things we must know about fearing no evil. Get ready for the Fire Experience!

Our focus passage opens up with a cautionary word of instruction from the Lord, spoken through the mouth of Prophet Isaiah. “But now, thus says the LORD”. Whenever words like these are recorded in the Bible, they are to be given absolute reference. These are words heard and reported as they drop from the heart of God Himself! The words above signify a change in direction from the progression of what God was revealing to His people in the previous chapter. Something entirely different is about to take effect that God’s children must pay attention to! And what is it that God is saying? The next few sentences spilled it all out. It started with an assurance of who man’s creator is, then it moved into God’s promises to keep man through three important phases of the dark seasons that can happen to a man in the journey of life.

We live in an imperfect world which reminds us constantly of the better place God has prepared for all His children that live in His will successfully here on earth.

Passing through the waters is the first phase of the three. In our journey through life as believers, there are situations and happenings that are bound to come our way not as a result of sin or because we are just particularly special but because we are still living in a world that has fallen from its original state. We live in an imperfect world which reminds us constantly of the better place God has prepared for all His children that live in His will successfully here on earth. Passing through waters involves encountering challenging situations that keep dragging endlessly in a manner in which you are not used to. These are seasons of serious waiting in the life of man, when it seems answers that should come forth quickly are getting delayed and getting dragged by seemingly invisible forces. Here, God acknowledges His knowledge and Pre-eminence over this situation by giving us a firm assurance that “when you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you”.

Believers must understand that through every situation of life as we pass through deep waters, the presence of God is right there with us!

What can be as comforting as the promise of God’s presence? Believers must understand that through every situation of life that as though we’re passing through deep waters, the presence of God is right there with us! The struggle is real! Some of us wonder how even the things we do for God drag over time and fail to give the expected outcomes we desire, even after we have done all that is required. Welcome to the season of deep waters! How easy can it be to keep walking fast when there is deep water right under your feet? Yet, even when it gets this messy and disappointment looms, God is saying He is still right there in that situation! He is not just interested in your moment of celebration. No! Since He’s taking all the glory, then allow Him to take all the shame as well! Enough of holding it all up by your strength, the presence of the Holy Spirit is right there with you, let God take it up! surrender the situation to Him!

Enough of holding it all up by your strength, the presence of the Holy Spirit is right there with you, let God take it up! surrender the situation to Him!

Furthermore, there are situations that are more than deep waters. Welcome to the second phase of these dark moments: “…and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you”. Deep waters and Rivers cannot be referred to as the same events. While deep waters cannot be strong enough to sweep you off your feet, the reality of passing through rivers can totally overflow you and make you fall off totally! There are circumstances that come our way that poises dangerous threats capable of completely ripping us off from all that we think we are! In our journey through life especially as believers, we can encounter men that are literarily like scorpions and snakes! There are many agents of darkness scattered all around with demonic operations that make them appear as lions, adders and other wicked animals.

The consciousness of who you are and the systems of help God has placed to bring you out of every challenge is tied to your coming out victorious from that occurrence!

The Psalmist said we shall tread upon lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Even in events of this magnitude, God promised that the rivers will not overflow us! Like it was explained in the previous episode, we must never allow the reality of the evil happening to us to make us forget our spiritual position at all times! We are seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly places far above all! He who is above, is above all! The consciousness of who you are and the systems of help God has placed to bring you out of every challenge is tied to your coming out victorious from that occurrence!

The more we can settle before the Lord and understand His ways, the more prepared we will be for the unknown days ahead!

The apex of them all is this: “when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you”. Beyond passing through waters and passing through rivers, God speaking through Prophet Isaiah revealed a deeper dimension of circumstance that can come our way here on earth; walking through fire is real! It is important we pay attention to words from the Lord, because even when we feel this is not our experience today, it is only a matter of time it might practically be what we will have to face in our journey of life someday! The more we can settle before the Lord and understand His ways, the more prepared we will be for the unknown days ahead! Some of these occurrences are well documented in stories of the bible where men of old seemingly walked through fire! In this case of fire, you are to walk through the situation! You don’t jump out of fire or run out of this type of situation. Rather, you ask for the help of God to patiently walk through it without getting burnt in the process!

In this case of fire, you are to walk through the situation! You don’t jump out of fire or run out of this type of situation. Rather, you ask for the help of God to patiently walk through it without getting burnt in the process!

There are certain happenings in the life of man that can be as though you’re walking on hot coals of fire! Difficult situations reveal truly what we believe to be true about God! You can never tell how far away from God you can run, until all that you have worked for crashed down in one day! It’s in seasons of nakedness like this that we will begin to understand the predicament of men like Job in the Bible. The life of Job shows that It is possible for your whole world to come crashing down all in one day here in this world. We live in a fallen world! The presence of Satan on earth depicts that evil, pain, sorrows, disappointment, and despair is far from over! This is why, it is only with the presence of God in our lives that we can truly stand the chance to attain true success and Fulfillment in our journey through life!

It is only with the presence of God in our lives that we can truly stand the chance to attain true success and Fulfillment in our journey through life!

Finally, be encouraged! If God be for us, who can be against us? No one! We’re heavily surrounded and guarded by the hosts of heaven, cheering us to victory at all times! As we anticipate the next episode, I leave us with these parting words. “Who could ever divorce us from the endless love of God’s Anointed One? Absolutely no one! For nothing in the universe has the power to diminish his love toward us. Troubles, pressures, and problems are unable to come between us and heaven’s love. What about persecutions, deprivations, dangers, and death threats? No, for they are all impotent to hinder omnipotent love, even though it is written: All day long we face death threats for your sake, God. We are considered to be nothing more than sheep to be slaughtered! Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything! So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles, fallen angels, or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love. There is no power above us or beneath us—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One! Romans 8:35-39 TPT God bless you!