January 15, 2018 – Isaiah 43:15-16

I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator and King. I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. Isaiah 43:15-16.

Whenever Dad told us the story of the children of Israel fleeing Egypt to escape the bondage they were in, I shivered at the intensity of the chase. They were in danger of being annihilated by the soldiers on chariots.  Was there a way out?  Just God’s way!   I wondered as a child, about the breathtaking walk on dry sand between two walls of water on either side.  What held the water in place?  And for how long?

Two verses later, we have a promise from God.  A promise that will give us a way of freedom from Sin and the Evil One. We often forget who the enemy is.  Ephesians 6:12 clarifies this for us. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 

Through Jesus Christ, we have a pathway to follow…and we will not thirst. On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”  John 7:37-38.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.” Matthew 13:16.

But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19.