God's presence is with you NOW

When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. Isaiah 43:2

When my first child, Elizabeth Joy, died less than an hour after her birth, I was suddenly in the deepest water I'd experienced until that time. For better or worse, I've had to pass through other kinds of deep water in the 30-something years since. But as a naive young woman, I had no idea that premature labor could happen to me, or that a labor could end without a baby to take home from the hospital.

Nothing can prepare you for some kinds of pain, but God made me the same promise he makes YOU now, in your deep waters:

1. You will go through suffering as well as joy in your life--notice it says "When...";
2. He will be with you through every part of it; --and--
3. No matter how painful it is, the intensity will pass, and your life will get easier.

But you are only passing through the deep waters, and walking through the fire of oppression. You are not there forever. Take your hope in God's deliverance.

Life comes in stages. If it is wonderful, it will come to an end at some point. Sorry! To paraphrase Dr. Seuss: Don't grieve that when it's over; rejoice for as long as you have it. Celebrate and recognize the good times, but realize that they cannot last, until you reach heaven.

The good news is, if you're going through a tough stretch, it will also ease up in time. When tragedy ransacks your life, you will eventually come out again on the other side of it. You will be different, but you will be whole again. Not as soon as you'd like, but in God's timing and his most loving way.

Your current crisis will end. You will survive. God will remain with you. There is no Plan B. This is the plan, God's plan. No matter what everything around you looks like at this moment.

He will bring out strengths you never knew you had, and bless you in ways you could have never imagined. May his presence be more real to you now, today, than it ever has been. May his comfort and strength fill you with hope and courage for whatever this day holds.

You are not alone. The God who made you is with you, working to bring you through these deep waters.

When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

Isaiah 43:2