A Present-Future God

Isaiah 43:5
“Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;”

God’s actions towards you are often determined by what you do. God is not a puppet who you can control, but He determines what He will do for you and through you by the actions you take. However, the one thing that God promises is that He will always be with you. He says, “Fear not: for I am with thee…” Several observations can be learned from this verse that can help you as you serve the LORD and face hard times. Let me share these observations with you.

First, God is a present tense God. God says in the verse above, “…I am with thee…” No matter what you face right now, God is with you. You don’t have to feel God’s presence to know that He is with you. Let me assure you that if God promised that He would be with you through what you face today that He is there. One confidence you can take into every day is that no matter what comes your way, God is present. The fact that God promised to be with you in the present should comfort you over the lack of you feeling His presence. The only thing you need to know is that God gave His word that He is with you through whatever you face, and He has never failed to honor His Word.

Second, God is a future tense God. God says in verse 2, “…I will be with thee…” The comfort of knowing that God is already in your future is what should give you the strength to step forward by faith. It should be a great comfort in knowing that God will never leave you from what you face today to whatever you must endure tomorrow.

Third, God’s presence doesn’t eliminate hard times. Verse 2 shows that God’s presence doesn’t mean you won’t face hard times; in fact, the opposite is true. God’s presence guarantees you will go through trying times, but you won’t have to go through those times alone. You are going to have to face the overflowing waters, but you don’t have to face them alone. You are going to have to face the fire, but you won’t have to face the fire alone. The way you know that you can face those times is by knowing that God is with you now, and that He promises to be with you in the future.

Fourth, God’s preserving presence is where your faith is to take you. It is interesting in verse 2 that God says, “…I will be with thee…” In other words, God expects you to go, and He promises to be where you are to go. Most believers want to see God before they go, but God always challenges the believer to go, and He will be there for them when they get there. Stop waiting to see God before you step out by faith and trust Him and His promise that He will be with you when you come to those times when you can no longer do His work by yourself.

Fifth, God’s presence will take you to your limit, but not beyond it. If you want God to use you, you are going to have to get comfortable with the fact that He will stretch you to your limit, but never go beyond it. God will take you through the overflowing waters, but they will never overflow you. He will take you into the fire, but He will never let the fire burn you. God’s presence takes you where you could never make it, but His presence keeps you from being hurt by those things that could hurt you without Him. My friend, God’s presence is all you need. The only one you need to make it when you come to your limit is God. He is there for you. Trust Him; He has never failed and will never fail to be with you.

Author: Allen Domelle