May 11 Daily Devotional

Carried Along

Peter G. Feenstra

“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb: Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.” Isaiah 46:3–4

Bible Reading

Isaiah 46:1–4

Devotional

Throughout Isaiah’s prophecy several images are used to show how the Lord carries His people. The Lord, as a faithful Shepherd, carries the little lambs in His arms, protecting them from danger. He carries them as a mother carries a child, first in her womb and then in her arms. The Lord did this from the day He formed Israel in the womb. He surrounded His people with His everlasting care, feeding them and nourishing them.

The Lord makes this known to His people, in times past and present, so that we allow ourselves to be carried by Him. In order for this to happen we need to humble ourselves before God and acknowledge our own weakness. We are too weak to stand for a moment and that is why we need to lean on the Lord completely. God never says to His people at any point in history, “Now you are old enough to go the rest of the way on your own. You do not need to be carried.” God carries His church from beginning to end, from the womb to gray hairs.

The God who carries us will save us, too. The Babylonian gods “could not deliver the burden”; the people could not rescue the images they created. In contrast we, who were created in His image, are delivered by God. He takes away the burden of our sins. What God portrayed in many and various ways in the Old Testament will be fulfilled through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Messiah will save His people from their sins by carrying the burden of their iniquities to the cross. The Lord carries us from the womb to old age. This is His promise to His people throughout time. We can count on God to carry us when we are young and overwhelmed by the challenges and questions of life. The strength of our God will carry us when we feel worn down by years of struggling against sin. The Lord, the living God, never gets tired and He will not let us drop out of His arms. He carries us even though we pass through troubled waters and dark valleys. Life is not burdensome because God carries us!

This is such heartwarming news! We are not alone and will never be left alone. We do not have to carry God, but He carries us. He takes our burdens, no matter how heavy they may be! What a message of supreme consolation! Since we are being carried, we can carry on.

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