“And you saw in the wilderness how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son all along the way you traveled until you reached this place.” Deuteronomy 1:31
“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isaiah 46:4
“The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him.” Nahum 1:7
As a young boy, I can still remember times when my Dad would pick me up in his arms and carry me. In my mind, I still have memories of him holding me up in his arms to remind me of those long ago times. It is an awesome feeling to know you are in the powerful arms of someone who loves you. As a Dad myself, I loved to hold and carry my sons when they were younger. Since they’re grown young men now at 26 & 22 I can’t carry them anymore, but when they were small, defenseless against the world, and vulnerable, I enjoyed carrying them in my arms or on my shoulders. I felt, as their father, it was important to hold them close, and let them know that they were safe with me.
There are other reasons we carry our children. Sometimes we carry them when they are very young and cannot walk themselves. Other times we carry them on long walks. Their little legs give out and they grow tired and weary. Still other times we carry our children or grandchildren when they are hurting or when the situation demands we carry them in the face of potential danger where they simply cannot move fast enough for their own good and we must remove them from risk.
God, our Father, is willing and able to carry you through tough times; when you can’t do it on your own and when your legs will carry you no further. When wandering through the barren wilderness times in your life, He will pick you up and carry you like a father carries his son.
During the past four weeks I have had this hymn-tune going over and over in my mind, yet I couldn’t remember the title. I got out my old 1956 Baptist Hymnal and finally located it, “Yield Not to Temptation.” Here are the words to the refrain which are very comforting to me:
Ask the Savior to help you,
Comfort, strengthen, and keep you;
He is willing to aid you,
He will carry you through.
-Horatio R. Palmer, 1868
Dear God, heal the hurts of each one of Your children. Help us to depend on You to carry our burdens. Thank you for promising to meet us at the point of our need. In Your Precious Name. Amen.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve along-side you.
Your friend,
Mark David Jackson
