Born and Borne (Part 1)

Do you hang on to God or does God hang on to you? I ran across Isaiah 46:3-4 the other day. Even though I had marked it in my Bible, it was as though I had never seen it before. “Listen to Me, [Pres]…/ You who have been borne by Me from birth, / And have been carried from the womb; / Even to your old age, I am and shall be the same, / And even to your graying years I shall bear you! / I have done it, I have made you, and I shall carry you; / And I shall bear you, and I shall deliver you.”

That’s a pretty extensive list of personal vows.

Note that the Lord has had his hands under us from the moment we showed up in the delivery room. Even though you are reading this letter like a civilized, mature adult with all of your dignity wrapped around you, picture your face on the naked body of a newborn baby screaming about his predicament in life. Instead of the doctor’s hands catching you and your Mom’s and Dad’s arms enfolding you, imagine the hands of God supporting your head and back, wrapping you up in your first blanket, swaddling you, proud to be the One holding you.

For all the tenderness, strength, and commitment portrayed in the above paragraph, the Lord vows to be the same to you and me right through to old age. No disenchantment, bad days, mood swings, whims, or pettiness. He simply says, “I am and shall be the same.”

Just to be sure we hear Him right, He rephrases His last statement and says, “Even to your graying years I shall bear you!” The word “bear” implies that the load of us is heavy. But note that does not stop the Lord from making the vow anyway.

And with His vow, what does God do? How does He superintend our days? Next time I’ll offer you my perspective on this.