Listen

Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when through the rivers, they won’t sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you won’t be scorched and flame won’t burn you.

Isaiah 43:1b-2

Think

At a high school softball game a few years ago, I noticed an older man who kept walking up to the fence and yelling, “I’m with ya, I’m with ya, you got this.” An inning or two later, he came back, “I’m still with ya!” No one around me knew who he was, but his support for the girls on the team was unwavering.

God says, “I will be with you.” When we pass through the waters, when we walk through the fire, no matter what, God promises to be with us. Right now, in the United States, people are dealing with literal fire and water in the form of wildfires and snowstorms. All of us feel like we’re being swept under sometimes by tough circumstances. God promises to be with us. I heard God’s presence when the softball fan yelled, “I’m with ya!” I see God’s presence in a text from a friend, encouraging me. I feel God’s presence in music or kind words or nature. God IS with us. May we be open to God’s presence in all the ways it surrounds us.

Laura Edgar

Question to Ponder:

How have you felt God’s presence lately?

Pray

Ever-present God, thank you that you are with me.

I’ve struggled to believe you’re with me when…

Open my heart to sense your presence today.

Amen.

Go

With-us God,
Help us re-member that you,
who knows our names,
grasp our hands as we pass
through the waters.

Help us re-member that you,
who is pleased with us,
hoist us on your back and carry
us through the flames.

Help us re-member that you are
with us.
We need not be afraid

Kheresa Harmon, Faith Element Resources