EMPOWERING LIVES WITH PURPOSE:
Deb Hogan- WWL Guest Writer, Massachusetts
“And the one the LORD loves”…
Deuteronomy 33:12 (NIV) states, “Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in Him for He shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between His shoulders.”
Lately, I have been doing a lot of rocking…rocking my one-year-old grandson Oliver. I increasingly find myself in a dark room with a sound machine on and a sweet sleepy boy in my arms. In this quiet place, I’ve found myself praying more than I have in a long time.
I have been overwhelmed by the love I feel for this little human and I am in awe of the trust he places in me. He doesn’t worry about where his next meal is coming from or what onesie he is going to wear next. He just trusts…and he rests. And How. He. Does. Rest!!!! His small body drapes itself on mine. His head snuggles on my shoulder. His full weight is on me. He is relaxed, completely at ease. He is at peace.
These moments have reminded me of a verse I have always loved, which is Deuteronomy 33:12. It states, “Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in Him for He shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between His shoulders.”
We rest between His shoulders, in His arms, safe and sound. Yet do we really rest in the arms of our God? Do we let God hold us in our pain and weakness? Or are we mostly striving to fix things ourselves, in our own strength?
Jesus admonishes us not to worry in Matthew 6 (NIV). He says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more that clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
Do we take these words to heart? I long to rest between the shoulders of my God. Maybe we each need to borrow someone’s baby so we can experience the trust of a child. Yet there is one component to remember: the baby knows who is holding him. This is where most of His trust comes from.
Do you know the One who knitted you in your mother’s womb? Do you trust Him to take care of you, to forgive you and to save you?
( Psalm 25 ) says: “No one who hopes in You will ever be put to shame.” (NIV)
Let us become like a little child resting between the shoulders of our God.