NO NEED TO FEAR : YOU ARE HIS!

*photo courtesy of HolleyGerth.com*

"But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; You are Mine. When you pass through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethopia and Seba in your place.' " - Isaiah 43:1-3 (NKJV)

MY STORY

 Ever been in a season of your life where you felt the book in the bible named 'Job' should have been your name instead? I have!

 In case
you're not familiar with the story of Job, he was a man of God. He loved God with his life! To make it really short and quick, his story begins with satan wandering all of the earth looking for someone to devour. We see him standing before God challenging that His people only serve and love Him because of the things He does for them. God's response? "Have you tried my servant, Job?" The Lord told him he could pretty much do what he wants with Job, but he couldn't touch his soul. (This is a message right here, if I must say so myself!) So, satan went and did all that he could imagine! He took his live stock, his children's lives, and when just when things couldn't get any worse, he took his health to the point of scratching himself with sharp pieces of glass to soothe the itching from the boils all over his body. His loyalty to God mixed with these matter  of events later caused his relationships. His friends walked out on him, and his wife told him to curse God and die, and then walked out on him. He was alone. (This is just a short version of the story and does no justice! I highly recommend that you read the story of Job for yourself!)

Sometime last year, I was having a Job moment myself. Everything that could go wrong at one time, did! One day, after parking at work, the Lord whispered Isaiah 43:1-3 to my spirit. As I grabbed my bible and the read the verses, I felt the supernatural love, peace, strength flow through my body, heart, mind, and spirit. How could I have forgotten?! Since then, He has been bringing this scripture and the revelation to mind, even in random conversations and prayer. So, of course, He put you on my heart to share the wealth with! Today, I am only going to share one part of the revelation in hopes it wouldn't prolong this post! But, below I have written some of the revelation nuggets I written in a scripture journal of mine when I first read these verses! Before I go into the message, you need to know and the understanding of the vision I received later when in prayer with the Lord in regard to this verse.

VISION

The Lord gave me a vision of a lady standing on the beach, wind blowing through her hair and scarf, and looking at the destination (beach) on the other side. The ONLY way to get there was the water. At first, her mind was full of wonder and questions such as the 'hows' and 'if only's'. As I am praying, the Lord releasing revelation of this vision, I began to see her focused as a dove, and fierce as a Lion and warrior. Fear left her as she was reminded of her Father. She went through the rivers, waters, storms, fires, hurdles and more. These 'obstacles' were creating stamina within her. She became stronger, wiser, and MORE fierce than she has ever been! And before you know it, she made it to the other side. Not only did she reach her destination, but she was ready, prepared to receive all that was waiting for her on the other side. 

NO NEED TO FEAR

The lady in the vision represented you and I. So many times we can see the 'promise' or 'breakthrough' or '(insert your IT here)' on the other side. But, once we see (or experience) a trial here or there we're so ready to throw in the towel and give up! We're so DONE! This can sometimes result from the lies we believe from the spirit of fear. We're afraid that we'll never get to the other side. We're afraid that maybe we are just seeing a mirage, and that maybe God doesn't care about us. Or, we may be afraid of the battle we may have to face and believe we may fail. Not just others or God, but even fail ourselves. So, we respond out of this emotion rather by giving up, tiring ourselves out, or putting the blame on God or other, or even running away. Running away, EVEN though we KNOW God is calling out our hearts to walk across these deep waters! But the BEAUTY about this journey is that we have a promise from God! That He will never leave nor forsake us! (Hebrews 13:5)

YOU ARE HIS

Looking back at Isaiah 43:1-3, first He reminds us that number 1, He created and formed us in the womb. He knows our destiny in life, He knows of the fire and rivers we will have to fight through. He KNOWS all of it, before He we were even facing the storms before our eyes! It does NOT take Him by surprise. Then, He follows up by stating, "FEAR NOT, for I have redeemed you. YOU are MINE!" He encourages us to not fear, because we BELONG to Him! *Pause* This is the opportunity to remember WHO He is! WHAT He has done ALREADY! This is the God Who freed the Israelites from captivity and slavery in Egypt. The SAME God who split the Red Sea so the children of Israel was able to walk across DRY ground. The SAME God who gave Manna from Heaven and Quail in abundance for them to eat on their journey. And the SAME God who used Joshua and Caleb to lead the children of Israel to the promised land. The SAME God Who used Gideon to win a battle with only 300 MEN!! Is this enough for you or do I need to keep going? How about NT, the SAME GOD Who Resurrected LIFE?! Who delivered countless people from demonic oppression, He who gave sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf. Let's make it personal. The SAME God Who gave us BREATH with lungs to BREATHE with! SALVATION -- 'Yo, you roll with Him?' Yea, I roll with Him!

"FEAR NOT; YOU ARE MINE!" Beautiful words if I may say so myself! 

>>Meditate on this for a second<<

What does it mean to NOT fear, because you belong to Him? Make this personal. Who is He to you? How has He showed Himself as God in your  life? I want you to take sometime and really reflect on this in your personal life. Spend sometime thanking Him for showing you that He is Father and fully trustworthy with your life.

HE IS WITH US

In 43:2 the keyword that struck out to me most is the word "When". He says, "when" we pass through rivers of water, and fire, we will not be overflown by the waves or scorched by the flames. Meaning, we WILL have to go through these in life. But the promise we have from Him is that when we go, not only can we be sure that we belong to Him, but also that He is WITH us! We don't go through this alone! He is fighting right along with us. Helping us to get through the waters and fires we experience on earth. It might get uncomfortable for a bit, but that's okay, because He alone is to be our Comforter! But, just remember as you go though, there's always PURPOSE for the fire and waters in your life!

THERE'S PURPOSE

There was a quote the Lord led my sister to share with me during prayer one time."It's not the destination that counts, its in the journey. The joy is not found in the other side, but the journey itself." In the vision, when the lady went through the fires and waters, and countless hurdles, her stamina, character, strength, focus, were being impacted. She grew wiser, stronger, and fully prepared to receive what was on the other side. There's purpose for the battles we go through. God knows for us to receive what He has, sometimes, He has prepare us for them, so that not only will we receive them but we will know how to sustain them. For example, you wouldn't just give any new kid on the block (not the music group) the keys to your business. No, but you will train them, allow them to make mistakes, help them to grow to the point you believe they will flourish the business and not run it down to the ground. It is the same God does with us when preparing our hearts and lives to receive what He has.

Bible Examples For You To Read in Your Quiet Time:

1. Story of Joseph: (Genesis 37:1-45:28) Was sold into slavery by his brothers because of jealousy, but he still became Pharaoh. 

2. Story of Moses Leading People out of Egypt: (Exodus 1:1-Joshua 22:34) They were free of slavery, but still had to run for their lives, and pass through obstacles such as hunger, red sea, etc. But they still entered the promised land.

3. Story of David becoming King: (1 Samuel 16:1- 2 5:4 Samuel) Not only was he a young Shepard boy, but he had to run for fear of his life, hide in caves, because Saul was jealous because David was anointed to be King and soon to take his place. David still became King!

*you can keep reading, there's more to their stories than what's referenced. *

FEAR MAY BE PRESENT, BUT SO IS HE!

Joseph, Moses, and David ALL went through some fire, waters, storms before Joseph and became King, before the children of Israelites were freed and crossed over to the Promised Land. They fought, stamina was built, but just like fear was present, so was God! Fear may be present in your life, but guess what, so IS GOD! You are NOT alone! He is with you! He knows what is needed to get you across to not only receive what He has for you on the other side of the rivers of waters and fires, but He knows how to help you SUSTAIN it!

There is so much I would LOVE to cover with you in this passage, but due to short time and only so much space given to write I will let you have a sneak peek into my scripture journal with some of the revelation nuggets I received when I FIRST read this passage. I pray the Lord blesses you!

REVELATION NUGGETS

 Here are just a few revelation nuggets I wrote down in my scripture when I first read this verse: Enjoy! 

1. Regardless of what we go through, we must ALWAYS remember that God is BIGGER! Remember Who He IS: Your Redeemer (Who IS LIVING!), Your Father (Who IS LIVING!), Your GOD (Who IS LIVING!) You BELONG to Him! And He calls you HIS! Don't worry or frustrate, or fear of what others may call you, He says YOU are HIS!

2. No matter what rivers you have to swim/ travel through in life, they won't over flow you. Though you might be "over your head", it will not drown you out. Nor will it defeat you, or cast you aside, because of Who He is,  and who you ARE in Him! You are HIS!

3. Nor would we burned when we walk in the fire. "No weapon formed against you shall prosper." Isaiah 54:17 Even if the fire touches you, no damage or harm is done. 

4. "When" is the keyword here for the water and fire. Meaning, rivers and fires WILL happen, and may be necessary to get to the other side of the path, but this is a promise from God Himself to all who believe, that when we cross through the rivers and fires of life we will not be drown or be burned. But, that we WILL get through! Safely! He ALONE has promised this. He ALONE is faithful!

>>YOUR TURN<< 

What stood out to you most in this post?! Has this been a hard season in your life? What advice would you give someone that is going through the same season? Comment below to share! Also, if you have any need for prayer, feel free to comment below that request or just comment "Me" and I'll keep you lifted! As always feel free to email me (yogurljennyspeaks@gmail.com) or fill out the contact form below! Thanks and have a beautiful rest of your day! Don't forget to subscribe on the right bar by entering your e-mail address!!

Always with Love,

-Jenny♥

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