ISAIAH 43
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, Cush 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. – Isaiah 43:1-5
ISAIAH 43 TRUST IN THE LORD WHO CHOSE YOU
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Are you resting in Christ or are you living in constant fear?
The Lord chose you and made a covenant with you forever
He will not change his mind because he is a promise keeper
Even in your sinfulness, he will still have his promise delivered
He will be there for you in times of trouble to comfort you
Even in your unfaithfulness, he will still continue to pursue
Because he chose you to be his own, he will stay unchanging
His steadfast love for you deserves a reciprocity of trust in him.
Have you ever been pursued by someone who you don’t care much about? I remember a college classmate who was very beautiful outwardly and was pursued by many men in the university that we attended. One day, a persistent admirer followed us around like a dog and then I witnessed something that changed my respect for her. She yelled at him instead of thanking him for the flowers. Instead, she threw the flowers he offered right at his very eyes. She didn’t like the man who wooed her. After that incident, I stayed away from her. Who knows, she will also do that mean thing she did to him to me.
I shared the story of my friend to give you an idea how some people reject the Lord and have no respect for his pursuit of us. Imagine that Jesus was that admirer of my friend, who constantly pursued and showed his love for us. What would Jesus feel if we throw away the act of love that he offers us. It may not be just flowers, but his word and guidance are the gifts he lovingly showers us with. We do exactly what my friend did when we neglect to have a relationship with him through obedience to his laws and hungering for his word. God promised to give us a way out of sin through Jesus Christ. He gave up his own divinity so he can mediate between God and us to redeem us from the sinful and prideful self that we acquired from our original parents. Shouldn’t we trust the one who sacrificed everything for us?
REFLECTION
· What are the ways we reject Christ in our daily lives that we so easily miss?
