“Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.” Psalm 68:19
“You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
You will increase my greatness
and comfort me again.” Psalm 71:20-21
“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31
“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
There is nothing when feeling low, or under weight of care, like the promise and experience of being borne up. Hope springs eternal when gravity breaks and light above shines. The sense of being supernaturally lifted and carried, with chin tilted upward, is both mysterious and of deepest comfort.
“You, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.” Psalm 3:3
So why do we wallow in circumstances? Why do we live so low? Why do we give up when weary, or surrender so easily when challenged? Because we trust our own strength, and it is fickle, and runs dry. We push on and press forward while our tank depletes, thinking too highly of our flesh capacity and too lowly, or too little, of God’s might. We neglect being filled with the Holy Spirit, when it is needful every day. (Ephesians 5:18)
How many failures will it take to acknowledge our need to be borne by Jesus? What insecurity, what arrogance, causes us to disdain asking for spiritual guidance and power, or refuse help and prayers offered on our behalf? It is one thing to be worn out because of diligent work performed whole-heartedly according to God’s call, and something very different to plow ahead on our own, self-fueled and puffed with pride, and end up exhausted. It is always worth it to wait for the Lord, and to act in His strength.
When is my time for daily renewal? How honest am I in confessing my lack, weakness, and need for grace? When I am drained, and faint, would I look to and get in step with the One who never is? (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
Lord, may I not weary in doing the good You assign, but flourish in Your daily sustenance so You receive all the glory. Now to You who are able to do far more abundantly than all that I ask or think, according to the power at work within me, to You be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 6:9; Ephesians 3:20-21)
As the rain and snow 