Posts Tagged: carried by God
“Carried by God”
Sunday, March 31, 2019
“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.” (Isaiah 46:3-4, English Standard Version)
My 12-step affirmation for today is as follows: “Today, by God’s grace, I am allowing myself to be carried in God’s arms. This enables me to walk when and where and how I need to walk.”
I remember when I was little falling asleep in my dad’s car on the way back home from a late night trip. (“Late night” was anytime after sunset for me when I was little. Still is.) It would be hard for me to wake up. Sometimes, I didn’t. I would simply go to sleep in the car, and wake up in my bed the next morning.
At other times, I would half wake up, but my dad would still carry me in the house. Mom would tuck me into bed. And sometimes, I would pretend to be asleep, so that Dad could carry me in.
Sorry, Dad. I hope that wasn’t too much of a bother. Who knows? Perhaps you enjoyed it. I was (and am) a lot less of a dill pickle when I’m asleep.
Today, I have a nasty cold. I’m not going to church today, and I’m having to rest more. I’ve got a lot of important-to-me work to do. It isn’t getting done. And I am not a very good patient.
So, today God is challenging me to let myself be carried in his arms. Hence today’s 12-step affirmation, which I pasted above.
Certainly the Bible, both the Old and New Testament, speak of the importance of walking. Sometimes biblical language speaks of literal walking. At other times, it talks about how we “walk” through life, how we conduct ourselves (Deuteronomy 8:6; Micah 6:8; Colossians 1:10-11; and 1 John 2:6, plus many others. Often, modern translations obscure this very mundane, physical metaphor.) Putting one foot in front of the other for God, people and creation is very important.
But the Bible also speaks of God carrying us, even when were old and gray. And that is important too. Sometimes the best way to walk with God is to let ourselves be carried. God will put us down and let us walk whenever the time is right.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
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