by Elizabeth Haarberg

God’s water and fire lead to His peace.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.”
Isaiah 43:2 AMPC

Water and fire seem to be opposites, but both are common themes with Jesus. In the two verses below He talks about His initiatives while on Earth.

 ^“But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water [satisfying his thirst for God] welling up [continually flowing, bubbling within him] to eternal life.”
John 4:14

“I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning!”
Luke 12:49

Jesus is in the water, and fire, of life. When we feel like we are either drowning, or burning up, He is present. In the suffering are opportunities to let Him save us.

The Bible is full of what seem like contradictions, but in reality God is more than we can wrap our brains around. He is alpha and omega, beginning and end. His ways are not our ways. For example, the following verse:

“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division;”
Luke 12:51

How often do we talk about the ‘Prince of Peace’, and believe that Jesus offered peace to us when He rose from the dead, but here He is saying He came to bring division.

In the division He is more likely separating sheep from goats, believers from nonbelievers. Peace is always available through Jesus, but He will not tolerate lukewarm faith.

Diving deeper…jumping off the cliff into our faith can seem scary, but it’s actually scarier to stay in the status quo.

Finding the peace we have been yearning for is always available. The Holy Spirit is moving in, and through, us. We can trust that the everlasting water, and fire, will consume us as we surrender our lives to Him. Trust Him to burn away, and drown, the old muck and sin. In its place find a new creation…someone made in His image.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado