“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.” – Isaiah 43:2

Madalas we pray na: “Lord, ilayo mo po sa akin ang mga sakuna at pagsubok…” bagamat walang masama sa prayer na ganito pero hindi sa lahat ng pagkakataon ay maiiwasan natin ang mga dagok ng buhay, but you will see how God moves in the problem. When you invite God to be with you in your troubles, He can change things around. He comes in to your difficulties at bibigyan ka ng pabor ng Diyos kahit maraming naninira sa iyo, He comes in at palalakasin ka Niya kahit na mahina ka, pagpapala at awa ng Diyos na mananatili sa iyo kahit na yong mga pagsubok na yon ay dapat makapagsira sa iyo.

Kung palagi natin iiwasan ang mga challenges ng buhay, maaari nating ma miss ang mataas na kabutihan ng Lord. At minsan, God will not change the circumstances, will not change the people but maybe our prayer should be: “Lord if you will not change things and people around me, I am ok with You changing me.”

Sinabi ng Panginoon sa Isaiah 43:2 RTPV05 “Kapag dumaan ka sa malalim na tubig, sasamahan kita; tumawid ka man sa mga ilog, hindi ka malulunod; dumaan ka man sa apoy, hindi ka masusunog, hindi ka matutupok.” If you think about it, God did not say, “I will not allow the fire to burn you, I will not allow the waters to drown you, I will remove the long and dangerous river so you don’t cross with difficulty.” Pero mapapansin mo na sinabi ng Lord na makakaranas ka, dadaan ka sa mga pagsubok ngunit tandaan mo na: “sasamahan kita sa apoy, sa sunog, sa baha at sa tag gutom.” Kaya kung nakakaranas ka man ng ganitong mga hirap, invite God to come in and be with you in these troubles.

Sinabi ni David in Psalms 23:4 NIV: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Mas mataas ang confidence level mo pag kasama mo ang Lord sa laban mo. You can smile and sing songs while in the middle of trials na gaya nina Paul and Silas. Hindi ka magrereklamo at mag-aalala dahil sa mga problema dahil alam mo na kasama mo ang Lord, hindi ka Niya iiwan at hindi pababayaan.

Maaring nasa gitna ka ngayon ng sakit, karamdaman, or yung trabaho mo, or yung pamilya mo. Maaari mong sabihin, kapag ok na mga problema ko, I will go back to church, magkakaroon ako ng mas magandang attitude. Habang naghihintay sa ilabas ka ng Diyos sa mga pagsubok na yan, why don’t you invite God to be with you in your troubles? Pwede mong ipag-pray: “Lord, I am suffering, I am in the midst of these heartaches, but I believe that I will see Your goodness, Your greatness in this mess.”

In the book of Daniel 6:28, si Daniel was preserved, like his three friends, not from danger, but in danger. Hindi lang ito napa kalaki ng himala na iligtas siya ng Panginoon sa kamatayan, kaharap ang mga leon na lapain sya. Siya ay iniligtas ng Panginoon habang kaharap niya ang mga lions which could eat Daniel alive, but he is preserved from evil, satanic power. Pwede na niyang kalimutan ang kanyang pananalig sa Diyos ngunit sa gitna ng mga hayop na yon, his obedience and commitment to the most high God was tested. Kung nawala siya sa paniniwala sa Panginoon, maaaring namatay na din naman sya. Sa pananampalataya ay sinabi ni Daniel na: “Mahal na hari ako ay hindi natatakot, dahil ililigtas ako ng aking Diyos na buhay.” Ngunit ang totoo, pwedeng iiwas tayo ng Panginoon sa mga leon ng buhay, but He has something better: he may not deliver us from every lion, from every fire, sometimes He will take us through the fire, He can put us in a lion’s den, so you know that God is a God who protects even in the face of those beasts.

In another story in Daniel 3:25-25 NIV iginapos sina Sedrach, Messack and Abednego para hindi makatakas at inilagay sila sa gitna na napakainit na apoy: “Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Yung akala mong papatay at tatapos sa iyo, God may not remove the fire to burn you, but instead He will be with you in the fire with you and show you He won’t leave you, He won’t forsake you.

Sa Psalms 46:1 NIV: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.” Alam na kasama natin ang Diyos ngunit kung tayo ay nasa gitna ng pagsubok at laban ng buhay, lalo nating mararamdaman ang presensya ng Panginoon in a different level, in a greater way. Tandaan mo na ipagtatanggol ka ng Diyos, He will fight for you, and you will receive the vengeance, the justice you deserve.

Sa Exodus 33:14-15: “The LORD replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.” God said, “My presence will go with you. I’ll see the journey to the end.” Maaaring hindi mo nauunawaan ang trials in your life now, but be encouraged like Moses that God will be with you “personally”, His presence will be you and ensure that you finish well in your journey.

Balik tayo sa buhay nina Sedrach, Messack and Abednego, itinali sila, pwede silang mag panic, matakot ngunit nagkaroon sila ng kapayapaan because that this is an opportunity to show His power, His glory to those unbelievers. Ano kaya ang pwedeng nangyari kung natakot sila? Kung nag reklamo sila? What if they give up their faith? Maybe God would not have shown up. I remember that song: “I thank you Lord for the trials that come my way…” because God turn our sorrows into joy, He can turn our mourning into dancing.

Alam mo ba na noong lumabas sila sa mainit na hurno, hindi sila nasunog! Hindi sila nasugatan! Alam mo ba ang nasunog? Nasunog at nawala ang takot at ang limitations na dating humahadlang sa buhay. The fire will burn the fear, the negativities. When you come out, you will be stronger and better and you may even thank God for those fires, for those lions so to speak, because it made you a better man.

May isang lalaki mataas ang posisyon ka kumpanya nila ngunit dahil magaling sya sa trabaho, ay pinag initan siya ng other executives of their company. He kept praying na sana baguhin ng Lord ang takbo ng isip ng kanyang mga co-workers. Ngunit kahit mainit ang mata ng kanyang mga ka-trabaho ay nanatili siyang tapat sa kanyang trabaho. One day, his company sold the business to a buyer, the new buyer got rid of all the managements and only kept him – he now runs the whole company.

Alam ng Diyos kung paano ka ipaglaban at ipagtanggol. Alam ng Lord kung paano ka i-promote sa gitna na mga bashers, sa gitna ng mga maninira. Anyayahan mo ang Diyos na samahan ka sa laban mo. “Lord be with me into this difficulty. Panginoon palaguin mo ako sa gitna ng hirap na nararanasan ko. Lord help me blossom where I am planted.

Ito din ang nangyari kay Joseph. Pinagkaisahan siyang itapon sa malalim na hukay and then decided sold him to Ismaelites to work in the household of Potiphar. Pwedeng magsabi sa Joseph: “Lord, akala ko po ba ay may magandang plano ka sa akin? Pero bakit ganoon? Why am I suffering?” In Genesis 39:2 NIV: “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.” Hindi siya nag pray na alisin siya ng Lord na maging alipin bagkus ay nanalangin: “Lord be with me in this job, let me shine, let me be the best employee in my master’s house.” The Bible even claimed that his boss was blessed because of Joseph and not Joseph was blessed because of his employer.

Joseph was accused of rape, was put into prison but while he was in prison, he met the people who would be instrumental for Joseph to meet the King of Egypt. Imagine yesterday Joseph was in prison but today he is in the palace of the noble king. For 13 years of being in hardship, being in the fire, inilabas ng Panginoon si Joseph sa mga pagsubok na iyon and God made him the second in command in Egypt.

Joseph stayed faithful to the Lord from being a humble servant and while in prison. I want to encourage you today, maaaring may sakit ka, talk to God and say: “Lord I am still here suffering from this illness, but I know you are able to heal me, I know that in this sickness I will know that you are a mighty God. When I come out of this, I will know the goodness of God in a better light.”

In the book of St Mark chapter 4, kasama ng Panginoong Hesus ang 12 disciples. He said: “Let us cross to the other side of the lake.” Habang sila ay naglalayag, nagkaroon ng malakas na hangin at bagyo, natakot silang lahat, nag panic habang tulog na tulog si Hesus. The disciples were surprised how could Jesus sleep in the midst of the storm? Jesus was a great example of confidence that nothing is impossible with God. The disciples woke Him up, Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and stopped the storm. Alam nila na maraming ginawa ng himala ang Diyos: bumuhay Siya na mga patay, nagpagaling ng mga ketong, ng mga bulag, pilay, bingi ngunit hindi nila naaalala na kasama nila ang Diyos na gumawa ng langit at ng lupa – that nothing can stop the Creator of the universe at hindi nila kelangan matakot because the Son of God was in the storm with them.

Ikaw ba ay natatakot sa iyong mga problema ngayon? Tandaan mo na kasama mo si Hesus: He is in your boat. He did not promise that there will always be sunshine, He did not promise that there will be no rain. But He made a promise that He will be with you in the fire, He will walk with you in the flood, in the dark valley, He will be with you in difficulties. Do not look to the bigness of your problems, to the bigness of the wave, look to the bigness of God. He knows the bigger picture. He holds the future. That fire will not burn you, but you are about to see something unusual: unusual favor, unusual promotion, healing, restoration, unusual blessings are coming your way in Jesus name. Amen.