When you pass through the water, I will be with you...

Excerpt from Exodus 15 (ESV):

6Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.7  In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.8  At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.9  The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.'10  You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11  "Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?12  You stretched out your right hand;
the earth swallowed them.
13  "You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;
you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.14  The peoples have heard; they tremble;

Excerpt from Isaiah 43 (also ESV):

1  But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.2  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.3  For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

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Can you imagine with me, just for a moment, sitting on the beach, when all of a sudden, you are being hotly pursued and there's no way out but to swim? Then suddenly, the Lord brings about a gushing wind and a path is carved into the sea for your perfect escape route! Imagine running through that path & the sea piled up in walls on either side- fish probably swimming by- (I get a little picture of the tunnel at the Ripley's Aquarium in my head) All this seems pretty crazy, huh? But the truth of the matter, is that God REALLY did this. He REALLY made a way of escape for the Israelites from the Egyptians. That is the power of my God. He who commands winds and waves. He who makes the perfect escape from the enemy, who wants to seek, kill, and destroy. 

That perfect way is Jesus, His one and only son- born of the virgin Mary. He lived the perfect life that you or I never ever could. He was beaten, bruised, and spilled every. last. drop. of. his. blood. All for you. He gave His perfect and sinless life up for you and for me, and died a cruel death on a Roman cross. He was mocked, beaten, and even pierced on His side- an innocent man, who actually BECAME sin & bore the weight of it. God, His Father poured out His wrath on Him, so that you and I might enjoy restored relationship with the Father, because guess what... Three days later, Jesus rose TRIUMPHANTLY from the grave defeating death, making His sacrifice our saving grace! This is the good news! But do you know why there had to be good news? The bad news is that you and I are wretched, filthy, stinking in the nostrils of God, sinners. Every single one of us. Apart from Jesus saving us, every one of us doesn't even need to be taught how to sin. We are fleshly, and we lie, cheat, and steal. We are selfish. We are angry murderers- even if we're only killing people with our words. We deserve death and hell. I need a savior. You need a savior. Jesus is that Savior! That is why He is the good news!!!  

Let this word be an encouragement, that He who is mighty to make the seas dry ground, is the same who is mighty to save you and I!