Hey everyone, I'm Dr. Allison.

Today's scripture offers us a wiser way of being human as we step into the day.

Today's passage contains one of the most comforting promises in scripture,

but it's also one of the most honest, because God doesn't promise that hardship won't happen.

Instead, the promise is this.

When you walk through deep waters,

when you pass through the fire,

you will not be alone.

Today, we're going to sit with that promise

and what it means for the seasons of life

when things feel overwhelming.

Today's scripture is Isaiah 43 1 through 3. But now this is what the Lord says. He who created you Jacob, he who formed

you, Israel. Do not fear for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk

through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

So many of us carry an unspoken expectation about this spiritual life, that if we're doing

things right, life should eventually smooth out, that the waters will calm, the fires will die down, the difficult seasons

will pass quickly. But scripture is remarkably realistic about the human experience.

Isaiah does not say if you walk through deep waters. It says when, when you pass through the rivers,

when you walk through the fire.

In other words, hardship is not a sign that something has gone wrong with your faith.

It's a part of what it means to live a human life in a fragile world.

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