Nougat 14

So having determined that there’s a clear difference between Ifs and Whens, let’s look at today’s Holy Nougat more critically.

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Some scholars believe that water is often used metaphorically in the Bible for chaos or uncertainty. While the pundits may have exaggerated a bit on the whole, in this context their theory is plausible, for deep water is a common enough metaphor.

In short, God knows that trouble is natural. It is as inevitable as taxes. And possibly just as traumatic. And we each, according to the nougat, can expect to face one of them. Not if, but when! Of course this contradicts the ‘Prosperity Gospel’ that suggests that the life of a believer is void of trouble. One need only read Acts of the Apostles, those disciples faced some real trouble! So did many of the Hebrew prophets! And often because of (not in spite of) their faith. Jesus underscored this premise in Matthew 5:11-12. (Please note, it’s also a When statement).

But God doesn’t leave us in the lurch. Not in the least. We are told so that we know what to do; rather how we should react when troubles present themselves. We can simply pray Oh yes. When the going gets tough, the faithful get a-praying! We pray, not as ones without Hope; rather we pray to the Source of our Hope. We pray, knowing that God not only hears us, but with the blessed assurance that God is with us. Right there in the deep waters. And we know that even when God (Jesus) seems to be asleep on the boat, God remains faithful. (And yes, God does care whether we perish.)

So whatever our deep water; we rest in the blessed assurance that God is with us – Emmanuel is here! Despite the impact and depth of our troubles, we can rejoice knowing we are not alone.

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May all we seek be found in Christ