1But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
3For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
4Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
5Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
6I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
7Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
8Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.
9Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
10Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
11I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
12I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
13Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
14Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.
15I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
16Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
17Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
18Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
19Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
20The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
21This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
22But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
23Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
24Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
25I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
26Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
27Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.
28Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to
reproaches.- Isiaiah 43: 1-28.
Think about it! How many times have you cringed in fear, when your courage was put to test? How many times have you chickened out when it was time for you to stand? How many times have you been lily livered and quickly sought the easier way out when the chips were down? Where were your guts? What happened to your boldness? Did they melt down, disappear into thin air or simply take flight? Perhaps you never even had guts in the first place, maybe you are an impostor. Can you thrive in chaos? Or does anyone thrive in chaos? I make bold to say that God thrives in chaos. From time immemorial, it’s always been His style (Genesis 1: 1-2) - out of nothing comes forth something; out of the unseen comes forth the seen; out of mystification berths orderliness; out of disarray berths pleasantness (Genesis 1: 1-31). There is no gain saying that He is the epitome of guts – another word for unwavering or unshakable faith. It is the only reason you need it (i.e. faith) to please Him. You must at least have an iota of his nature to partake of Him. It is not negotiable. It is either you have it or not (Habakkuk 2:4, Hebrew 11:6). Faith is the only precious article a man really owns on planet earth (Luke 17: 5-6). It gives birth to other articles and brings about unprecedented changes in the life of a man or people (1 John 5:4). Your enemy and God’s adversary, the devil knows this truth and that is why he unrelentlessly seeks to steal your faith or out rightly exchange it with the counterfeit called “DOUBT” (James 1: 6-8). When and if the devil succeeds, he prevents you from receiving the articles faith gives birth to (i.e. your desires, aspirations, dreams, visions, goals e.t.c, 1 John 5: 14-15) and denies you of the change of life in the spirit (i.e. the salvation of your soul, a guaranteed heavenly home-1John 5:11-12) and an upgrade of your earthly life –physically, materially and character wise that only faith produces. This is what counts most. (John 3:3, 5, 12, 15). So I ask you one more time: can you thrive in chaos? Chaos, disarray, circumstances, difficulties, and adversity is what the devil presents to you to cause doubt, but actually they only serve the purpose of shaking and testing your faith to determine its substance and grounding. Like raw gold or silver that goes through the refiners fire before emerging as the beautiful ornament you appreciate and may want to have or acquire (James 1:2-4, Psalms 116:10). Your faith must undergo a fire of sort through the devil’s “Blast Furnace”. And when you finally emerge from the crucible of life, lo and behold! You have the full nature of God. You become a master of situations and circumstances. Your unbelief and doubt is permanently confined to the trash bin; and your arch enemy the devil is put to shame and an endless flight. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, John 16:33). Really, child of God, it takes GUTS to take a stand for and walk with God. Have guts: faith turned inside out. It is God’s kind of faith. With the WORD set yourself free and like an Eagle soar high! You will get there! Maranatha.
REDEEMED PEOPLE: OPERATION Proclaim! What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs - JESUS CHRIST (Mathew 10:27).
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