Carry or Carried?

 December 23, 2021

“Listen to Me, all 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 gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.” —Isaiah 46:3-4 

I wonder how much of God’s blessing we miss by not paying attention to these two verses in Isaiah. We men in particular don’t like the idea of being carried. It sounds too weak and wimpy. If anyone is going to do the carrying, it’s us! So we charge ahead in a strength we don’t actually have, but don’t realize until we’re in too deep. It’s like Pappy Okerlund (our crusty old village mechanic) said to me when I bought my first four wheel drive truck, “The only difference between two wheel drive and four wheel drive is when you get stuck in four wheel drive, you’re REALLY stuck! And you WILL get stuck with it!”

We want to be the ones doing the carrying, and end up bearing a far greater emotional, financial, and spiritual burden than we were meant to carry. A lot of us simply shut down under the weight of it all. In more than forty years of ministry, it’s been my experience that men commit suicide at about twice the rate of women. 

What we don’t realize is that when we allow Jesus to pick us up and carry us, it’s not a sign of weakness on our part, but a source of strength that enables us to face uncertainty, danger, and challenges with courage and confidence. Allowing ourselves to be carried is the behind-the-scenes preparation for the very visible battles we must face if we are to live with integrity and morality in this corrupt and perverted world.

The second thing I notice in these verses is the fact that God offers to carry us, rather than the other way around. These verses are set in contrast to those who form a statue or figurine which they then bow down before in worship. The god must be carried around by the man rather than the god carrying the man. While we may no longer bow down before actual idols, we often act as if our faith were a burden—a laundry list of do’s and don’t’s we carry around in our minds. We mentally check off whether we’ve prayed enough, given enough, done enough; our faith becomes an albatross around our necks, reminding us of our shortcomings while obscuring the grace and mercy of our loving Heavenly Father. Never lose sight of this truth: “It is God who carries us!”

Lord, through the deep waters, in the darkness, in the midst of fire and trouble, may we not resist when you reach out and lift us from where we are. Grant us grace that when you pick us up, we may understand that the one being carried must relinquish control over the path taken, the destination appointed by divine wisdom. Wherever you may carry us, may we not fight nor fear it, but instead may we trust in your faithful goodness and salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.