Carried

Praise the Lord, God our Saviour, who carries us in His arms. Psalm 68:19 (NLT)

Having recently flown for over 30 hours to and from Vancouver, Canada , this verse caused me to connect the thought of God carrying us in his arms with flying in those big jets.  Once I step inside that aircraft I put my life into the hands of the crew.  I put my faith in them and trust them to bring me safely to my destination.  I stow my belongings in the crowded overhead lockers, (I can never believe the size of the bags that are allowed on board), then settle down with my water bottle, iPad, earphones and blanket for the journey. (It used to be books and notebooks but my iPad has it all! Thank you dear husband for my wonderful birthday gift.)  I am set for the journey. I read a little, watch a movie or two, I even sleep.  I relax and am carried along.

That is the way we should view our journey with God; the one who carries us in His arms.  We do not get in the aircraft and expect to have to somehow help get that machine off the ground and stay up there.  When we came to Christ we put our trust in Him and were thrilled at the difference our faith made to our lives.  Sadly later, as we 'grow up', we seem to think that so much depends upon us. 

Now we have to be careful with my analogy here, because the Christian life does depend upon a certain amount of energy on our part, e.g. reading the Bible, talking to God, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us etc.  BUT remember Paul's words, "That's why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ's mighty power that works within me."(Coloss 1:29 NLT).  We do have to press on and press through to make progress in our journey but we should always remember that it is HIS energy and HIS grace that we are working with that enables us to change and grow.

In the times when difficulties come and we feel we can't go on, we need to remember that he carries us in His arms and our friends lift us up with their prayers.  What a great thought!  Don't try to do it alone.

Prayer:  Precious Lord, thank you for your everlasting arms which are underneath me in those tough times and thank you for the faithful prayers of friends who lift me up.  Help me to rest in your love and power.  Amen