✝️ Isaiah 43:2 | A Simple Way to Point People to Jesus

📧 In today’s email…

• Putting together everything we learned this week ⏩️

• A way to point people to Jesus 👉️ ✝️ 

• In case you missed it.. 🧐

 🧠 Memorize

_{see if you know what words go in the blanks}

When ___ ____ _______ ___ ______, I ____ __ ____ ___;

and _______ ___ ______, ____ _____ not _________ ___;

when ___ ____ _______ fire ___ _____ ___ be ______,

___ ___ flame _____ ___ _______ ___.

Isaiah 43:2

A review of what we’ve learned 🤔 

Here’s what we learned about Isaiah 43 this week:

We said that Isaiah gives us a window into the cycle that repeats all throughout Scripture:

• God forms a covenant relationship with His chosen people

• They decide not to trust God and are unfaithful to Him

• They reap consequences of their actions

• God pursues them with mercy and grace

For example:

• Chapters 1-39 of Isaiah talk about Israel's desertion of God and how Israel will be conquered by foreign enemies

• Chapters 40-55 was likely written during the Babylonian exile, which was a result of the Israelites’ idolatry & disobedience

  • In Isaiah 40-55 (and in particular, Isaiah 43), you read tender words of comfort from God to His people, like:

    • Fear not, for I have redeemed you

    • You are mine

    • You are precious in my eyes…I love you

    • I will be with you

    • For I am the Lord Your God…your Savior

♻️ Covenant relationship → Israelites don’t trust God → They go into exile → God pursues with forgiveness, mercy and grace → Repeat

On Monday, we also learned that to ancient Israelites, open bodies of water often symbolized chaos.

But in Isaiah (and elsewhere in Scripture), we saw that God is Lord of all, including the Seas. For example:

• The parting of the Red Sea (Exodus)

• Jesus calming the storm in the Sea of Galilee (Mark)

On Wednesday, we noted that the second half of verse 2 happened in a literal way in Daniel 3 when God protected Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace.

And we confronted this reality:

• Verse 2 doesn’t say if you pass through waters or if you walk through fire - it says when you pass through the waters and when you walk through fire.

But while Jesus promised us that we would encounter troubles, He alone offers us peace in the midst of our storms:

Ultimately, Isaiah 43:2 recognizes the truth that we will face the chaos of waters and fires in this life.

BUT that God is with us through it all.

And we can trust Him.

The Israelites had tangible examples from their past of how time and time again - God rescued them despite their sins.

But you and I aren’t ancient Israelites.

So how do we know we can trust Him?

How we know we can trust Him 🙏 

Jesus.

Jesus went endured the ultimate chaos. The ultimate storm.

He suffered walking through fire when His body was nailed to the cross and He experienced separation from the Father.

All because of His great love for us.

So that we could have peace and be reconciled to the Father.

So that in the end, we could enjoy eternal life with God where there will be no more storms.

Praise God for that future hope! 🙏 

But the next time you see the cross, meditate on this:

The God of the universe was willing to suffer the ultimate storm so that He could be present with you forever. He is trustworthy!

Pointing People to Jesus ✝️ 

People all around us are facing their own storms.

And only Jesus offers what they need.

Who are we to keep Him to ourselves?

Practice: Listen and share your story 🗣️ 

One way to point people to Jesus is to simply:

1. Listen to someone share what they’re going through

2. When there’s an opportunity, share a story from your life where God was present with you in a similar trial. And share how Jesus gave you peace in the midst of it.

3. Ask if you can pray for them.

Resources to help you earnestly seek God 🙏 

In case you missed it, here’s this week’s round-up of recommended resources to help you trust God in the midst of storms:

• 📚️ Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund (link here)

• 📚️ Follow Me: A Call to Die, A Call to Live by David Platt (link here)

• 📚️ Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering by Tim Keller (link here)

• 📹️ Bible Project: Overview of Isaiah (part 1 | part 2)

• 🎵 Isaiah 43 (Part 1) by Project Love to help you meditate on this Psalm (listen on Spotify | listen on Apple Music)

Answer key ✅ 

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

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

Isaiah 43:2

How did you do? 💡