Isaiah 43 opens with a “fear not” promise:

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, ESV)

Then this promise, which Navigators founder Dawson Trotman claimed in the context of a disciple-making ministry:

Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. (Isaiah 43.4, ESV)

Dawson would teach that we must give up our lives to reach and develop others. There are those who don’t accept Dawson’s using Isaiah 43.4 in this way. In context, it’s clearly about the nation Israel. But for that matter so are Isaiah 43.1, 2, often claimed for “my” protection or Isaiah 41.10 for “my” strength.

But what about claiming such a verse for ministry guidance? Consider this one, coming up in our readings shortly:

And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength— he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49.5, 6, ESV)

It’s clearly Messianic: “I will make you as a light for the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” But guess who claimed it for his own ministry?

And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” (Acts 13.46, 47, ESV, emphasis mine)

Yep. The Apostle Paul claimed Isaiah 49.6 “out of context.” I rest my case. The point is that God uses his word any way he chooses. Listen for his word to you while you read. I have written about this practice before with examples.

Here’s a ministry promise I claimed from the next chapter:

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. (Isaiah 44.3, ESV)

“I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring…” I want people I’m discipling to be filled with the Spirit and hear from God directly.

Maybe God’s speaking to us through Words written centuries ago is part of the “new thing” that’s also in Isaiah 43:

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43.18, 19, ESV)

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4.12, ESV)