Our God Carries Us

Our God Carries Us

Isa 46:1 Bel bows down; Nebo stoops; their idols are on beasts and livestock; these things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts.

Isa 46:2 They stoop; they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity.

Isa 46:3 "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;

Isa 46:4 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.

   Bel and Nebo were false gods that were worshiped by the Babylonians of Isaiah's day. Since they had no life of their own, they had to be transported on the backs of animals. The prophet compares those who worship false gods to the beasts of burden who carried Bel and Nebo. Their gods could not prevent the Babylonians from being defeated and carried off by their enemies.

   When we hold on to falsehoods, false gods, and false belief systems, we labor under a burden. Great effort must be exerted to maintain and reinforce anything that is not true in itself. When the only reality or value of a belief system or an object, is that which we have attached to it, we must continually nurture and defend it. When we cling to false attitudes, beliefs, philosophies, or objects of worship, we become like a weary beast; tired of our lot in life, but unable or unwilling to lay down our heavy burden.

   We strive to fulfill the requirements of our burdensome beliefs, and always seem to fall short of our expectations, never quite seeing the results of our efforts. Often we don't see the nature of the heavy load that we are carrying, we just know that we are tired and hurting.

   Jesus is saying to us “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matt.11:28-30 ESV)

   Jesus is our burden-bearer; we don't carry him around like some kind of heavy weight, he carries us! “...He is my glory and the lifter of my head!”(Psalms 3:3)

When we are yoked to him, we find out that he is the one who is carrying all the weight, we are just along for the ride.

   I praise my God for his grace and mercy! He is Jehovah, the great I AM; He is True and Faithful. He has carried me from before I was born, and he will carry me to old age and beyond into everlasting life with him! I don't have to strive to make him real, he is reality! He is all and in all! He is true and righteous, He is King over all kings, and all things were made by Him. I didn't make my God, he made me! His undeserved favor (grace) is the ship that carries me over the waters of this confusing and turbulent life.

Serving our God is not a burden to the Christian who understands grace! The kingdom of heaven is righteousness, peace and joy! (see: Rom.14:7) “Moses gave the law, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (Jn.1:17) The law of sin and death is a burden of self-effort and failure. We are always coming up short of perfection and truth, but the grace of God relieves us of the guilt and the condemnation of our failure to measure up. We like sheep have gone astray, but our Good Shepard has sought us out, to lift us up on his shoulders and carry us to glory!

   Jesus took on himself the burden of our sins and griefs. He took upon himself the punishment that we deserve, and has set us free by imparting to us his righteousness! There is no need to carry around feelings of guilt, regret, or failure; thank God for his mercy, accept his grace, and enjoy your life with Him.

   Don't let ego and false pride convince you that you can be your own savior! You and I are abject failures when it comes to true morality and spirituality. Jesus is our only hope of redemption.

   Don't let any modern day scribes or pharisees put their burdens of old covenant law, and condemnation on your shoulders. You are not strong enough or wise enough to carry a load that they can't and won't lift for themselves.  Don't allow well-meaning leaders to weigh you down with useless traditions, or beat you up with the letter of the law. Study the bible for yourself, especially the letters of Paul, and learn to rightly divide the word. Search the old and new testaments for the grace and mercy of our God. He has hidden himself, like a priceless treasure, throughout the bible, for his children to discover and enjoy, in this life- and for the rest of all eternity!

  Immanuel, God with us (Matt.1:21-23), is our truth and our light. He is our burden bearer, and the lifter of our head. Cast your cares on him, trust him to work out all your problems, and his peace will guard your heart and mind. When we are weak, He is our strength. When we fail, He picks us up and carries us; he dusts us off and reminds us that we are righteous in Him. He doesn't condemn us for the sin which he has already forgiven, He gives us grace to overcome it, and walks with us through it all. He has said “I will never leave you or forsake you.”(Heb.13:5, Josh.1:5)

   You can't lose, when you choose Jesus to be your redeemer and your burden-bearer! Nothing can separate us from him! He has even taken away our sins, in order to make it possible for us to inherit his kingdom. He has done it all! He has made us, He will carry us, and He will save us!

©2010Charles J. Loubert