Through, Not Around

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you." — Isaiah 43:2
 
Are you asking God to take you around your trial?
 
Here's what I've learned: God sees you through, not around, but through the middle of whatever that circumstance is. And that's how to live the Christian life with power and victory and confidence—because you know you're right in the hand of the will of God.
 
We want shortcuts. We want the pain to stop immediately. We want God to lift us over the difficulty or guide us around it entirely.
 
But that's not usually how He works.
 
He walks with you through.
 
Notice what Isaiah says: "When you pass through the waters." Not if—when. And not around—through. The waters will come. The rivers will rise. The fire will burn. But you will pass through them, and He will be with you.
 
There's something that happens in the middle of the trial that can't happen any other way. Character is forged. Faith is deepened. Dependence on Him becomes real instead of theoretical.
 
"Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me" (Psalm 23:4).
 
David didn't say he walked around the valley. He walked through it. And God was with him every step.
 
Stop asking God to take you around. Ask Him to walk with you through. That's where the transformation happens. That's where the testimony is built.
 
Through, not around.