The Holy One of Israel
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Isaiah 43:1-7
1. But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2. 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. 3. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. 4. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. 5. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; 6. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7. every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
Since Adam and Eve were created, God has desired a personal relationship with man. He wants us to seek his presence throughout our lives, walking with him as we go, reaching out for him when we feel uncertain or afraid. God made us for companionship, and to be the objects of his love. God reassures us that he just loves us way too much to ever leave us alone, unprotected and vulnerable. We are his precious, perfect creations, and he guards us with more care and affection than we can even fathom.
No matter what life throws at us, God is with us. He parted the sea for Moses and the Israelites, then closed it up again to destroy their pursuers. Do we really think he’ll do any less for us, when we step out in faith to follow him? Do we think that he’s not guiding and directing our path every step of the way? Have we acquired such a high opinion of ourselves that we really believe we can “make it on our own?” I don’t know about you, but I long ago accepted that fact that I can accomplish
nothing without God!
Nothing! And I also know without doubt, that if God intends something,
nothing will prevent it from being accomplished!
Where does that reassurance come from? The bible. Life experience. The Holy Spirit. That intricate weaving together of the moments of our life that bring us to God are not always definable. Is there a day, a moment, an instant when you can say, “that was it, that’s when it all came together for me” or “now I’ve got it!” Or do you, like me, each day discover some new facet of the great and powerful, gentle and kind, loving and caring God that you never realized before?
God says he’ll do anything for us. He’ll do anything necessary to protect us. After all, he wouldn’t go to all the trouble of thinking us up, creating us, breathing life into us, and then not care for us, guard us, keep us close to him. The Message paraphrases verse 4 like this: “
That’s how much you mean to me!
That’s how much I love you! I’d sell of the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.” Wow!
And he did, too! He sent Jesus into the world to prove he really meant it! Fully man, fully divine, he was the living image of what the future will be like for us in heaven. Christ showed us how to be “connected” to God on earth. Go to him. Seek him out. Pray. Spend time in quiet. Carve out a part of your life that belongs only to him. Because of the cross, we have access to that same divinity! We will one day sit at the feet of the throne and gaze into the eyes of the one who loves us more than the mind can fathom or the imagination can conjure up! It is just unimaginable to me! To be so cherished. To be so desired. It is just inconceivable.
I hope you’ll go to God today, the Holy One of Israel who formed and created you. And that you’ll walk through the waters of life, confident that he will save you.
Mary
