Pattern of Caring and Carrying

UV 2814/10000 Pattern of Caring and Carrying
And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Isaiah 46 v 4

Most people become insecure when they think of approaching old age. They are apprehensive about who would care for them when they are old and not be able to take care of themselves. There is also a fear that the mental and physical strength, faculties as well as resources would decline with aging. This uni-verse shows us the pattern of the Lord’s caring and carrying of us right through our lives. The image it evokes is that of a prolonged pregnancy for a mother carries her child for nine months while the Lord carries us all through our lives. Our umbilical cord of faith supplies us all that we need as nourishment for growth. The Lord is not only a caring God but a carrying God. Since we are not just made by Him but made in His image as a special vehicle of His grace, He never disowns us. He takes the responsibility of saving us, of strengthening us from within, of providing for us, of leading, guiding, helping and enabling us. He bore the weight of our curses for us on the cross. He carries us from womb to tomb and beyond into eternity. No other person in all our lives can do this for our parents remain for a while with us till we can take care of ourselves. It is said that if we carry the Bible when we are young, He will carry us when we are old. This uni-verse reiterates the commitment that the Lord is the one who carries us into old age and sustains us while we are aged and more dependent.
The Lord carries our burdens daily and helps us shoulder our responsibilities so that the load is never too heavy for us. He guides us to the point of death and far beyond. Not a hair on our heads falls to the ground without His infinite knowledge. It is not as if we are promised an easy or smooth life or that we will not face difficulties, challenges and problems of various kinds but that the Lord will be with us and deliver us from each situation. The uni-verse acknowledges and celebrates the faithfulness of the Lord- His commitment to the crown of His creation, the redeemed in Christ. The promise produces hope, assurance and a deep sense of security and trust in us. We continue to flourish even into old age.
The Lord is with us in the different seasons of our lives. He is both stable and able to help us whether we are up or down, in high spirits or low spirits. With regard to our parents, our dependence rapidly reduces as we mature and age. But with regard to our relationship with the Lord, our dependence keeps increasing. People who do not have a relationship with the Lord become lonely and bitter as they grow old as their loved ones drift apart and leave them alone to fend for themselves. But the ones who have an intimate relationship with the Lord shed every trace of bitterness. They are never lonely for they know the Lord is true to His word and stays with them. In our crisis moments, He carries us on His shoulders and close to His heart as the true shepherd carries a wounded sheep on his shoulders.
Prateep V Philip