"Up, please!" - What She Said Part 14 - Week 3 Day 2

TODAY'S TREASURE

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

Transcript

“Up, please!”

Annalisa Smith, Guest Writer

Today’s Treasure

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

Lately, my small daughter has taken a liking to a specific doll we call “Baby Tanya.” She picks her up – squealing with delight – and pats her. It’s sweet to my heart to see my little one caring for her little doll this way. These days, you’ll often find me carrying my daughter while she carries Baby Tanya. 

As I carry my little girl and she carries her doll, their weight is on me. I can do this so easily because I’m so much bigger than both of them together. Sometimes, Tanya might be too much for my daughter, but I can easily hold and care for them both. In the same way, as we look to God’s Word today, I hope we can be encouraged that He sustains us in all the ways life can feel too heavy.

That’s such a relieving thought for me. I often feel burdened with all the responsibilities of new-mom life. There just isn’t time for everything. The expression “three steps forward and two steps back” suddenly feels like decent progress! Your stage may be different, but I can imagine the burdens may feel similar – caring for an aging parent, navigating the special needs and growth of your teenager, making decisions about home ownership as a single lady, taking the next step when you’ve been struggling with depression, carrying the weight of a family’s financial burdens – these things all have tremendous weight. Remembering that the Father carries us as well as those we love soothes our tense shoulders and lightens the weight. Though our physical and emotional muscles might be sore, we’re not a bit heavy for God’s broad shoulders!

Isaiah, the prophet, used this picture of God’s shoulders in a moving reminder to the people of Israel to rely on the one true God and not put their trust in empty idols:

 "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. 'To whom will you liken Me and make Me equal, and compare Me, that we may be alike? Those who lavish gold from the purse and weigh out silver in the scales hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship! They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble.'

'Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, 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, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, "My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose."'" Isaiah 46:3-10

In this passage, God is telling His people that there’s something totally different about Him than the gods of other nations—He does the carrying. The idols Israel went to in order to get relief from their burdens became burdens they had to “shoulder” themselves. But God promises He can carry both them and their burdens. He is a burden-bearing God. And while my to-do list never seems to reach an end, God accomplishes all His purpose.

What does it look like to ask for God’s help? When my little girl gets tired or wants to connect, she puts her little wrists together with her hands splayed out and raises them up to me. She doesn’t have the words for it yet, but I know she’s asking, “Up, please!”

What does God’s help look like? If my little girl were tired and asking to be held, of course, I would pick her up with her little doll and carry them. I wouldn’t give her more things to carry. She would likely still be tired and have her arms full of dolls, but at the same time, she would be able to rest against me. She could depend on me. Often, in our life situations, we aren’t able to just “put down” our burden, and we will likely still have full arms and tired shoulders. But coming to God for help means I know I’m not alone, that it doesn’t all depend on me, and that there’s Someone bigger and stronger I can rely on while others are relying on me. The same One who made me and has carried me all along is carrying me now. His arms are there for us—past, present, and future.

"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

We will never outgrow our need to be carried by our burden-bearing God. And we, along with all the burdens we carry, will never be too heavy for His shoulders.

LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT

In moments this week when you’re feeling tired or overwhelmed when your physical or emotional “shoulders” feel tense and sore, practice finding ways to say, “Up, please!” to God and find out what His help might look like in that moment.

PRAYER

Dear Father, I bring myself, my burdens, and my weariness all to You. You are strong. You are kind. You will gladly carry it all. Teach me to come to You daily for this help. Amen.