I'm once again joining the writers of Five Minute Friday, where we are given a theme word each Friday, and we write for just five minutes on that theme, unedited, and resist the urge to tidy it up.
This week's theme is CARRY.
“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 grey hairs I will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
“To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal and compare Me, that we should be alike?
They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god; they prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it and set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer nor save him out of his trouble."
“Remember this, and show yourselves men; recall to mind, O you transgressors.
Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me................... " Isa 46:3-9
There are two distinct opposites in this passage. There's a God who has carried His children from the womb, and desires to carry them to their old age, who has made, borne and carried them already, and who wants to deliver them. But He almost has to beg His children to be carried, because they don't want that kind of relationship.
In the second part of this passage, we see His children making something they can carry themselves, crafted by them, much more manageable than a God who wants to carry them. Being carried requires trust and compliance and surrender.
Their God asks them 'to whom will you liken Me?' No one, no thing can be likened to Him in His love and capacity to bear and carry and deliver, and yet we settle for so much less. We settle for something we can carry.
It begs the question of me: Will I let Him carry me, or will I insist on being the carrier? Until I can't. Until I end up in a ditch, of my own making, or at least something I was complicit with.
And then I need to be carried and held till I know who I am, whose I am, and Who He is - so much more than I gave Him credit for - I AM.
Perhaps it takes nearly a lifetime to run out of my own strength to carry, before I allow myself to be carried by the One who longs to carry me on His shoulders, like He carried me in His heart, at Gethsemane and Golgotha and carries me even now in heaven, preparing a place for me.
It brings me to those famous lines of this song from my childhood, performed by the very talented band, Celtic Worship.
What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Saviour, still our refuge -
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.
Love that! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'm often the one who is struggling in self-reliance and wants to carry, not be carried.
Oh, me too, Fiona! I'm so very good at carrying, have had to be, but it's nearly destroyed me. I'm so grateful that His desire is to carry and He's strong enough for me.
DeleteI wish someone would pick me up,
ReplyDeleteto carry me through burning days,
take from me my Garden cup
and throw it to the distant haze.
I wish someone would breathe with me,
would make the air come fresh and clear,
would closely look and truly see
that I now live in fear
of that Damoclean sword
that cancer's placed above my head,
would shout a ringing magic word
and I'd find myself instead
in lovely vale without a care,
but I'm in His love, already there.
Andrew, this was written by my daughter last week, in connection with a painting she's done. She's been chronically ill for nearly ten years. We've nearly lost her several times and her hold on life is fragile, at best, and could change quickly.
Delete"Comforter"
DeleteToday I finished this painting. Yes, it's confronting. But my whole life has been confronting, still is in many ways. In the journey of it all, I've learnt that sometimes we can bury people in our plans, agendas, attempts to 'save' them and fix them back together. I've experienced that myself as chronic illness doesn't always fit you into the mould society creates for you.
But I created this image to show the journey I've taken, and the God I've found.
The God I know, the God I've found, and the person I want to be is someone who meets us where we are, accepts all the ugliness of suffering, comforts, and simply listens.
It wasn't painted for a specific person, but rather, I painted it as a way to express the growth that comes through deep pain when we allow God and others to simply be where we are. I hope it blesses you today.
~ Anna
I'll post the painting om my blog, because I can't it get to copy here.
DeleteAndrew, you can find it here. I hope it blesses you.
Deletehttp://glimpsingglory.blogspot.com/2022/03/comforter.html
Love this and love the song, thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Cindy. I needed the reminder too ;)
DeleteI'm so thankful He carries us, Kath.
ReplyDeleteOh me too, Lisa!! I'm so thankful that His heart is to carry us, that He doesn't do it under sufferance. You can hear His heart in these verses in Isaiah.
DeleteI very often think, after struggling along through a "treacle" situation for a while, that it's just self-reliance that stops me from asking Father God to carry me.
ReplyDeleteJust stopped by from FMF#34
Yes, I've stubbornly struggled through so many treacle situations, and it's nearly destroyed me. It seems He has to break us to help us. I'm so grateful He does.
Delete