Fear Not (The Lord Is With You)
I meditated with Isaiah 43:1–7 this morning while praying the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in the Hallow app.
Following a month-long battle with sloth, lust, loneliness, despair, anxiety, overwhelm, and struggle with prayer, I needed this passage like a gunshot victim needs an E.R.
I’ve spent years battling these things on and off, and sometimes, like recently, I find myself in an all-out war. After a while, I check out. I numb. I distract.
This morning, I managed to unplug from my spiritual Matrix long enough to kneel in prayer, thank the Lord for this day, and candidly dump all my baggage at His feet.
Not yet feeling His presence, yet trusting that He was there, I proceeded to pray Day 3 of the Spiritual Exercises (for those of you with the app, I’m a day late).
The first two days, I just stumbled through the motions. But today, I paused the recording at one point, grabbed my bible, and read through Isaiah 43 slowly while meditating on each section. I bawled my eyes out.
My heart cracked open as I felt God cradle me and speak each word to me personally. He reminded His precious daughter of how much she is loved. How much she is valued. How much she is delighted in. How she’s never alone.
Not because I earned it, deserve it, or even asked for it. But solely because I am His. And that will never change.
His words were a healing balm to my mind, heart, and soul.
So for anyone who needs to hear this same message today, or any day…
God loves you. He delights in you. He cherishes you. He formed you and called you by name. You are His. So be not afraid, for He fights for you.
This love is freely and unconditionally given. And He will never rescind it.
1 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 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.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my sight,
and honored, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;
6 I will say to the north, “Give them up,”
and to the south, “Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth —
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”— Isaiah 43: 1–7, NRSVCE
P.S. The Hallow prayer app is free from Google Play and Apple’s App Store if you’d like to try it out for yourself. Register here for a free three-month trial of the premium content, including the Spiritual Exercises challenge.
