God Is With You

By Phil Wood

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and when you pass through 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.

For I am the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

The passage above, from Isaiah 43, has become my life verse. I honestly believe I heard Yahweh call my name when I was a boy. It woke me in the middle of the night. "Phillip!" The big, booming voice startled me awake; the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck were all standing on end. Long pause... "What?" I whispered timidly. But he was gone, sweeping over the housetops I suppose, calling others by name as he went.

When I came across this passage for the first time, many decades later, it hit me right between the eyes. Oh, my God! It really was you! I suspected it all along – believed it on faith even – but now I know for sure it's true. You called my name. I am yours. And you have faithfully kept your promises. I've been through some very scary times, but when I passed through the waters, you were with me. The rivers did not sweep over me. When I walked through the fire, I was not burned. Thank you, LORD, my God, my Savior.

So, am I special because I heard him call my name, and you, maybe, did not? No, because the passage is speaking to all of Israel – all of God's people. But because I've personally experienced the truth of these promises, I feel very comfortable assuring you that it's true for you.

In this time of crisis the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior is with you. He has always been with you. He will continue to be with you.

John Ortberg calls this the central truth of the Bible. It's the way he created things in the Garden. And later, Ortberg says, "The promise came to Enoch, who 'walked with God.' It was made to Noah, to Abraham and Sarah, to Jacob and Joseph and Moses and David and Amos and Mary and Paul and too many others to list."

David said, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me."

"When God himself came to earth," Ortberg points out, "his redemptive name was Immanuel – God with us."

When Jesus left the earth, his promise was this: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

He is with you now.

And it seems to me that now – in this unexpected quiet time at home, away from many of the world's distractions, with the new-fallen snow all around – would be a really good time to turn off the TV, silence all the coronavirus updates, meditate on the Scripture above, and embrace the presence of the LORD our God, the Holy One of Israel, our Savior. This is exactly why he made us.