Isaiah 43 — Fear Not, I Have Called You by Name

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 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. 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. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you. This is Isaiah forty-three. God speaks to His people through the prophet, and through the prophet to me tonight. Fear not. The most repeated command in the entire Bible. Three hundred and sixty-five times, by some counts. One for every day of the year. God knows we need to hear it again and again. Fear not, for I have redeemed you. The reason I do not need to fear is not that nothing bad will happen. The reason is that I have been bought back. I belong to Him now. The price has been paid. Whatever happens, I cannot be lost. I have called you by name. Not just by category. By name. Personally. The God who knows the number of stars and calls them all by name knows my name too. You are Mine. The simplest sentence. The most powerful claim. I am His. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. The waters will come. He does not say, You will not pass through waters. He says, When. The trials are part of the journey. But He will be with me. Through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. The rivers can be deep. They can be fast. They can threaten to sweep me away. They will not. Because He is with me. When you walk through fire you shall not be burned. The fire of suffering. The fire of trial. The fire of testing. I will walk through it. I will not be consumed. The flame shall not consume you. Like the three young men in the furnace in Daniel three. They walked among the flames with a fourth, who looked like a son of the gods. The flames did not touch them. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. The credentials. He is Lord. He is mine. He is Holy. He is Savior. With this God on my side, what can stand against me? Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you. Three things. Precious. Honored. Loved. Read them slowly. Each one true of me right now. Precious in His eyes. Honored before the angels. Loved with everlasting love. I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. The astonishing claim. God values me more than nations. He values me more than empires. The God who arranges the rise and fall of civilizations does so partly with me in mind, with my salvation in mind. Fear not, for I am with you. The repetition. He started with this and ends with this. Bookends. Fear not. He is with me. I bring You my fears tonight, Lord. The big ones. The small ones. The named ones. The unnamed ones. I lay them at the foot of this passage. Each one melts in the heat of, You are Mine. I am Yours. Whatever comes. Wherever I go. Whatever I lose. I am Yours. Forever. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.