"WATERS AND FIRES!"

Isaiah 43:1-3a                (KJV)
"1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through THE FIRE, thou shalt not BE BURNED; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour"


My wife has always cooked my meals, and has done a really good job of it!  My waistline gives evidence of that fact!  But a couple of years ago I started cooking my own breakfast because I like my eggs cooked just to the degree I like them.  I like the yokes of the eggs to be "over-medium".  That requires the eggs to remain in the skillet over the fire a little while longer than "over-easy".

Isaiah 43 begins by establishing that the LORD created me!  The people who believe in evolution have to have faith that they are correct also.  Their faith is in their beliefs, my faith is in my beliefs!  As long as they do not impose their beliefs on me, we won't have issues.  I do not get offended when someone rejects my LORD.  They should not be offended when I choose to worship my LORD!

But verse two of Isaiah 43 is the verse that I would like to expound upon today.  "When" thou passest through the waters is not an IF!  It is a "when".  "When" thou walkest through the fire is not an IF!  It is a "when"!  Just as my eggs have to remain over the fire longer to be cooked the way I prefer them, sometimes GOD may need to expose me to the "WATERS AND FIRES" to mold me into what HE desires me to be for HIS glory!

In John 4:4 scripture records "And HE (meaning JESUS) MUST NEEDS go through Samaria".  JESUS had a "MUST NEEDS" moment in HIS life.  For me to be like HIM, I may be required to have a "MUST NEEDS' moment or two in my life!  But I am assured that WHEN the "MUST NEEDS" times come to prepare me for HIS service, the "WATERS AND FIRES" will not damage me!  Instead, they are getting me ready to be used of and for HIM, for HIS glory!