God Carries Us

Welcome to this Saturday's edition of Our Daily Bread. Our reading is titled, God Carries Us, and it was written by Karen Pimpo.

In 2019, Hurricane Dorian overwhelmed the islands of the Bahamas with intense rain, wind, and flooding, the worst natural disaster in the country's history. As he sheltered at home with his adult son who has cerebral palsy, Brent knew they needed to leave. Even though Brent is blind, he had to save his son. Tenderly, he placed him over his shoulders and stepped into chin-deep water to carry him to safety. If an earthly father facing a great obstacle is eager to help his son, think of how much more our Heavenly Father is concerned about his children. In the Old Testament, Moses recalled how God carried his people even as they experienced the danger of faltering faith. He reminded the Israelites of how God had delivered them, providing food and water in the desert, fighting against their enemies, and guiding the Israelites with pillars of cloud and fire. Meditating on the many ways God acted on their behalf, Moses said, There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son. The Israelites' journey through the wilderness wasn't easy, and their faith waned at times. But it was full of evidence of God's protection and provision. The image of a father carrying a son tenderly, courageously, confidently is a wonderful picture of how God cared for Israel. Even when we face challenges that test our faith, we can remember that God's there carrying us through them.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Deuteronomy chapter 1, verses 26 through 31. But you were unwilling to go up. You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You grumbled in your tents and said, The Lord hates us, so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us.

Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, The people are stronger and taller than we are.

The cities are large with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there. Then I said to you, Do not be terrified. Do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for being our strength and our refuge through all of life's ups and downs and for caring for us so much more than even the best earthly father. When we are in need, please calm our spirits and remind us that you are all we need and that we can trust you with our greatest struggles. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.