But Now
Something preceded the words, “But now,” in Isaiah 43:1. That is when we learned about the sin of the people that composed the Tribe of Judah, who despite having been known for being powerful praisers, had become distant from God. God had told them that they would be punished for their sin, God chastens those He loves. The purpose of His divine discipline was to bring them back to Him and get them back on the right track. When we have issues in our lives because God is doing something in us to restore us to a path of righteousness. If we are His children and keep choosing to go in the wrong direction despite His correction, then we are not truly His children.
The Bible tells us that God created us and breathed the breath of life into us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator (Psalm 139:14).. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). God chose us before the very foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Before He formed us, He knew us (Jeremiah 1:5). The word “formed” means “pressed into a certain configuration or shape. Sometimes in the pressing, God is using whatever means necessary to stop us from continuing in a destructive path, to get us to turn back to Him, and to turn us into the image He has of us. He is like a potter at work who, noticing a flaw that needs to be fixed, puts us back on the potter’s wheel to rebuild us into the person He intended us to be. We need not fear this process, because we are going to come out on the other side, better than we have ever been. God redeemed us. He gave us beauty for ashes (Isaiah 61:3). We must have the willingness to let go of our hurts, to quit using them as a spiritual crutch. He gave us the oil of joy, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3). He called us by our names and we are His (Isaiah 43:1). He loves us more than we are capable of comprehending in our finite minds.
When we pass through the waters, He will be with us (Isaiah 43:2). Waters are indicative of a time of transition from one place to another. “Through” means that we start on one side and end up on the other. Isaiah 43:2 then tells us that when we pass through the rivers, they shall not overflow us. Rivers in the Bible represent prosperity. We must guard against forgetting God when all is well in our lives. Prosperity can be dangerous if it leads us to think that we are self-sufficient and no longer need to press into God. The verse concludes by telling us that when we walk through the fire, we shall not be burnt, nor shall the flames scorch us. This means that we will not be scarred by what we have been through. What a comfort iit is to know that we have a God who is always with us and always for us.