By Mary Capalbo
Have you ever gone through a lonely season that left you wondering where the Lord was? Have you felt blindsided by difficult circumstances that pierced your heart and overwhelmed you?
These chapters in our lives can cause us to feel like the Lord forgot us or lead us to question whether his plans really are good. Over the past few weeks I have felt the Lord gently challenge my heart to look for his faithfulness in the details. Even in the midst of painful seasons, I want to spend my days with eyes open, expectantly looking for the ways he is working in my life and in the lives of others.
I recently read a poem by Annie Johnson Flint that stirred this growing longing in my heart to see God’s faithfulness in the details:
“When you pass through the waters”
Deep the waves may be and cold,
But Jehovah is our refuge,
And His promise is our hold;
For the Lord Himself has said it,
He, the faithful God and true:
“When you come to the waters
You will not go down, BUT THROUGH.”
Seas of sorrow, seas of trial,
Bitter anguish, fiercest pain,
Rolling surges of temptation
Sweeping over heart and brain -
They will never overflow us
For we know His word is true;
All His waves and all His billows
He will lead us safely THROUGH
Threatening breakers of destruction
Doubt’s insidious undertow,
Will not sink us, will not drag us
Out to ocean depths of woe;
For His promise will sustain us,
Praise the Lord, whose Word is true!
We will not go down, or under,
For He says, “You will pass THROUGH.”
I believe Annie’s poem was inspired by the following verses in the book of Isaiah:
“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.
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” (Isaiah 43:1-2).
God is nudging me to remember his faithfulness in the details. What would my life look like if I paid closer attention to the people that he places in my path every day? The cashier at the grocery store, the slow driver in front of me when I’m running late, my coworkers, our mailman, a neighbor walking by our house as I’m unloading the kids from the car… Each encounter is orchestrated by the creator of the universe. Will I remember this in the moment and treat each individual as an image bearer of Christ? Will I remain open to opportunities for conversation and look for ways to be a friend and to meet a need?
The Lord is our creator and our sustainer. He has formed us and redeemed us. He has called us by name and we are his. Did you catch that? He knows our name and he claims us as his! So why do we so quickly forget that he is with us through it all? When our plans, big or small, come crashing down, why are we prone to despair? Why is it so hard to remember his faithfulness, and that he is making a way for his better plan that will glorify him and grow our faith? For myself it’s often because I’ve been trying to do it in my own strength. I know these great truths of who God is and that he longs for me to live with surrendered plans, but the way I approach others and circumstances portrays a much different reality.
When we feel threatened by circumstances outside our control, our eyes are so quick to move from his steadfast love and faithfulness to the terrifying waters all around us. I was recently reminded of the story of Jesus walking on the water. He called Peter to walk out to him, and Peter walked on water as he kept his gaze fixed on Jesus’ eyes, but the moment he moved his gaze from the Lord to the waves he started to sink. Where are our eyes when the waters around us start to churn and the winds rage?
The final words of that passage in Isaiah say,
“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.”
When you pass through the waters, the rivers, the fire… Not if, but when. We will go through hard times. We will experience suffering as followers of Christ. This should not be a surprise. But when those seasons come, let us remember to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and claim the promises that he is with us, our circumstances and fears won’t overwhelm us, and we will not be burned or consumed by the fires and flames. Let us remember to look for his faithfulness in the details.
I’m not sure if you are going through a season of pain right now, but as my dad has lovingly reminded us through the years, the Lord is often bringing us into, sustaining us within, or leading us out of these difficult times. God longs to continuously mold and shape us in these seasons. And while this process is rarely comfortable, we can fix our gaze on the author and creator of life and trust that he will be glorified through it.
My prayer is that throughout my life I will be able to share countless examples of God’s faithfulness in the details. I want to live each day expectantly, knowing that our God will provide, and his love will sustain us through the fiercest storms. I’m sure that the days ahead will hold their share of pain and heartache, but I pray they will also hold healing, joy, growth and a deeper faith in our God who has promised to be with us through it all.
Through it all may we all remember his faithfulness in the details.