Isaiah 43:1-7 MSG
But now, GOD’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel:
Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine.
When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.
When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end
– Because I am GOD, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Saviour.
I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!
That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you!
I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.
So don’t be afraid: I’m with you.
I’ll round up all your scattered children, pull them in from east and west.
I’ll send orders north and south:
‘Send them back. Return my sons from distant lands, my daughters from faraway places.
I want them back, every last one who bears my name, every man, woman, and child
Whom I created for my glory, yes, personally formed and made each one.
The God who breathed this world alive
and sustains it day by day,
Whose hands flung stars into space
and controls our destiny,
says Do not be afraid I am with you.
The God who filled the ocean depths
and sets the tides on their way,
who caused mountains to be raised up
and rainbows to display
says I have called you by name, you are mine.
The God who made the fertile earth
and seed within to sow,
whose artistry creates butterflies
and the early morning dew,
says You are precious in my sight.