Isaiah 46:1-4 “The things that you carry are burdensome, a load for the weary beast. They stooped over, they have bowed down together, and they could not rescue the burden but have gone into captivity together…Listen to Me, …you who have been borne by Me from birth and have been carried from the womb. Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you. I have done it, and I will carry you; and I will bear you and I will deliver you.”
Observation: God here contrasted Himself with those who carry around their own burdens. Without Him, men make their own images of wood and stone to worship, creating lifestyles that are burdensome indeed. In such circumstances we are weighted down by having to carry all this “stuff” ourselves. We become exhausted trying to maintain the big house and expensive toys, burdens which God never intended us to carry. In Isaiah 46:3–4, the contrast could not be more profound: God said that He carries the burden of His beloved people, that He is faithful and able to carry the load.
Application: This is such a hopeful passage! Oh to have a clear understanding of the contrast God presents here. I put myself under an impossibly heavy load when I try to go my own way in life, yet it seems so easy at the beginning of the journey. What could be simpler than to set my own standards for living, apart from the supposedly “heavy” demands of God?
Yet the opposite is true. God is here saying that He has been carrying me since I was in my mother’s womb, and that He will remain faithful to carry me even to old age. My part in this is to simply lay my burden down and to enter into His life, His plan for me. He is both committed and able to carry me through every circumstance of life. His supernatural hand of protection has indeed been over me; His deliverance is sure. All I need do is to finally, at long last, surrender. I bring nothing of value to the table; my life is His, and I am content to be carried by Him.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, the yoke You put on me is so easy to bear compared to the heavy burdens of life I fashion for myself to carry. Forgive me for those times when I have stooped low to pick up heavy loads that You have not required of me. I choose today to rest in You. I choose to simplify my life and to experience the joy of being carried along by You to that awesome wedding feast that awaits.