Carry You

One day, my daughter came home from school and told me that one of her classmates asked why she did not have a father. It had been about three years since my husband, Tensley, had gone to be with the LORD.

“You do have a father.” I said, “He is in heaven, you know that. Do you remember having tea parties with Dahdee? Do you remember when he used to carry you around the house on his back? Play with you in your playhouse? What about when he taught you how to do push-ups? Or when you two would read, or play basketball, or video games together? Did you imagine all that, or did it really happen?"

“It happened,” she agreed.

“Ok, so if you had those experiences with a real person, that is your father, did he just cease to exist now that his body is gone?”

“No.”

“Truth is, babe, you have a father more so than many people whose fathers are still walking around the earth. Here's the thing: many people don't know their father, and those who do, he may be physically present, but fail to make a positive impact on their lives. Your Dahdee, even through the short time he was able to be physically present with you, has already done that and will continue to do so. Tensley will always be your dad; his influence over your life will carry you through until you enter eternity. Then you will have forever to share with one another.”

It got quiet for a second.

“Never let anyone tell you anything about your father. You know better.”

“Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together; They could not deliver the burden, but have themselves gone into captivity” (Isaiah 46:1-2). Isaiah warned the people of Israel about the coming judgment. He was used to prophesying judgment on a defiant people, but now he was getting personal, naming names. Bel and Nebo were false gods of pagan nations that God’s people had adopted. What were they thinking? Their enemies would soon overcome them without the help of their false idols. In fact, the people would have to bring their statues with them, carrying their gods along with their other possessions as they were taken into bondage. How foolish of them to worship false idols when the God of creation called out to them.

“Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who I have upheld 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 will bear; I will carry and deliver you” (Isaiah 45:22, 46:3-4). God, as Creator, had made them. He, as their Father, carried His people. Would they truly move forward with their idolatry, even in captivity, when the one true God offered them salvation? Would they burden their shoulders and load down their beasts by having to carry these pagan gods into another land when God, their Father, Who carried them since before birth and promised to carry them to old age, was calling out to them?

What kind of god makes you carry them? The Children of Israel had not imagined all of the goodness and blessings they had experienced from God—all of it really happened. Indeed, He delivered them from Egypt, parted the Red Sea, sent manna from heaven, water from rocks, defeated their enemies, chose them to be His covenant people, and established in them a Holy Nation. Yet they let others influence them into worshipping idols. Maybe all the talk from outside nations made them believe they did not have a Heavenly Father. They should have never let anyone tell them anything about their Father; they should have known better.

There is one true and living God. He is our Heavenly Father. Whether you realize it or not, He knew you before He formed you in your mother's womb (Jeremiah 1:5). He has carried you thus far and will continue to carry you if you let Him. Do you remember when He healed you? Do you remember when He provided for you, protected and cared for you? What experiences have you had with the Father? Think about the goodness and blessings He has bestowed upon your life. He has carried you. You have never had to carry Him. If you know the LORD, continue to get closer to Him through His Word and live as an example for others. If you do not know the LORD, accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, read and study His Word, and apply it to your life so that you can get to know your Father. When you know your Father, it is easy to believe that He will carry you.