Not Down, But Through

 

Isaiah 43:2 KJV - 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.

 

When thou passest through the waters
Deep the waves may be and cold,
But Jehovah is our refuge,
And His promise is our hold;
For the Lord Himself hath said it,
He, the faithful God and true:
”When thou comest to the waters,
Thou shalt not go down, but through.”

Seas of sorrow, seas of trial,
Bitterest anguish, fiercest pain,
Rolling surges of temptation
Sweeping over heart and brain —
They shall never overflow us,
For we know His word is true;
All His waves and all His billows,
He will lead us safely through.

Threatening breakers of destruction,
Doubt's insidious undertow,
Shall not sink us, shall not drag us
Out to ocean depths of woe;
For His promise shall sustain us,
Praise the Lord, whose Word is true!
We shall not go down, or under,
For He saith, " Thou passest through."

by Annie Johnson Flint

 

I came across this beautiful poem and was so struck by it, I had to share it and dig a little deeper into its meaning.

Isaiah 43:2 holds a very special place in my heart. I have a very tear-stained, handwritten copy of the verse on an index card that I feel I will keep forever because of the strength it gave me during one of the darkest times in my life. And even to this day, I can’t read it without tears welling up in my eyes as the emotions rush in and the memories along with it.

As I went through my time of trial, this verse became my lifeline. I claimed this promise on a daily basis and read and cried over it so many times, hence the tear stains.

But something I never fully grasped until reading this poem was the fact that the Lord says, through.

Through the waters. Through the rivers. Through the fire.

It clearly says that when we pass through, he will be with us. Not down, but through.

That means that it’s only temporary! It will pass.

Through. As in, moving in one side and out the other. Passing beyond. Crossing over.

And this passing through, with God walking alongside, is available to us, redeemed, forgiven, children of God.

Isaiah 43:1b - Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

And who is it that walks with us? God.

Isaiah 43:3a - For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour:

We can take great comfort in knowing who it is that is with us and that he will bring us through.

Take a look with me at some other places in Scripture that God reminds us that he will make a way through.

*Please don’t be tempted to skip over the verses without reading them fully. I know that some of you will say, “yeah, I know that verse” and you’ll neglect to read it. I know this because I have been guilty of doing it myself.

It’s easy to gloss over the Words of Scripture when we read something someone has written, thinking that the commentary is more important than the actual verse. How wrong that thinking is! God’s Word should never be read hastily and without thought. God’s Words are so far above man’s thinking and interpretation, that we need to read them carefully and thoughtfully and with a teachable heart, longing to understand what God is saying to us.

So, please, read on and don’t skip a single word!

Habakkuk 3:15 KJV - Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.

1 Corinthians 10:1 KJV - Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

Numbers 33:8 KJV - And they departed from before Pihahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah.

Hebrews 11:29 KJV - By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

So, what are all these references to the sea? We read the story in Exodus of the miraculous deliverance of the Israelites from Pharaoh’s army.

Exodus 14:16, 21-22 KJV - But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. ... And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

This is one Bible story I wish I could have experienced for myself. Can you just imagine walking in between a huge hallway of water rising on either side of you, dry ground underfoot, running your fingertips through the water as you watched the fish swim alongside, like a giant aquarium, crossing to the other side? And as if that wasn’t enough, seeing Pharaoh’s army be swallowed up by the river and swept away, never to be seen again! I don’t even know what expression to use here in this sentence! But wow! Wow! WOW!

All throughout history, and even today, God is watching over his children, and he is going with them as they pass through fiery trials, difficult days, depressing circumstances, loss and grief, pain and sorrow.

Why do we often say we went ‘through’ a trial? Because that’s what we do! We go through it. We don’t stay in it. Even though, at times, it seems never-ending. We go through it.

Even the most well-known Psalm reminds us of this fact.

Psalm 23:4 KJV - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

With God’s help, we can go through our trials. He will be with us, and we will pass through the waters, the rivers, the fire, the loss of a loved one, the terrifying health diagnosis, the days of dark depression, the financial stress, the heavy workloads, the tiring days of raising little ones.

Whatever it is you’re facing, you can, and you will pass through it. With God’s help, you don’t have to stay there. You can pass through it.

Look down a little further in Isaiah 43.

Isaiah 43:16, 19 KJV - Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; ... Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

These verses tell us that God will make a way. It’s another way of saying that you’ll go through it. He can make a way where there is no way.

We see an obstacle. God sees an opportunity.

Not only does God help us to pass through and make a way, he also promises to go before us.

Deuteronomy 31:8 KJV - And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

Isaiah 52:12 KJV - For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.

Isaiah 45:2 KJV - I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:

But can we, as Christians in 2023, take the Words of the Old Testament and apply them to our lives? Can we claim the promise that God will go before us?

We can and we should! If God loved us so much that he sent his only Son to die a cruel death on a cross, shedding his blood so that we could have eternal life, then how much more will he be with us today? Walking with us, making a way, going before us as we live our lives here on this earth in this day, at this time in history.

His promise still holds true. He will not forsake us.

God told Joshua that he would be with the people of Israel as they went into the promised land, and he will be with us as we venture into an unknown future.

Joshua 1:9 KJV - Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

I found many references in the Bible with the sentences, “God is with thee, you, us and God was with them” etc. And God hasn’t changed. He is still the same. He is still with us.

Whatever it is you’re facing today, take comfort in knowing that God knows all about it. He sees your tears, he hears your cries, he knows your hurt and he will help you go through it. He will make a way. He will go before you and beside you and he’ll even carry you when you can’t take another step.

You may have to go through the waters. You may have to swim across raging rivers. You may even have to go through the fire, but you can come out the other side, dry, unharmed, without even the smell of smoke on your clothes.

God will bring you through.

 

Psalm 46:1-3, 7

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,

and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,

 though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. ...

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.