Tag: Psalm 55:22

Children of the Heavenly Father

Published on by amylinneaLeave a comment

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22

I love hymns. Do you? They speak such powerful truth in their short verses.

This Swedish hymn is a favorite of our family. I can still hear my grandmother singing it with us.

Children of the heavenly Father safely in his bosom gather; nestling bird nor star in heaven such a refuge e’er was given.

We, as God’s children, are safely settled into His giant arms.

Nothing on earth dares to compare to the safety we experience as His children when gathered up in His arms.

God his own shall tend and nourish; in his holy courts they flourish. From all evil powers he spares them; in his mighty arms he bears them.

God takes care of us, His own. We flourish and grow mightily in His presence.

He shields us from all evil. All evil. Even when surrounded by death and destruction, we are safe. His strong arms hold us. Yes, we may suffer, but God stands with us.

Neither life nor death shall ever from the Lord his children sever; for to them his grace revealing, he turns sorrow into healing.

Nothing in life or death will ever separate us from God. We will abide with Him now and forever.

His grace provides healing for our every sorrow.

God has given, he has taken, but his children ne’er forsaken; his the loving purpose solely to preserve them pure and holy.

God is in control. He gives and He takes away, but He will never leave us alone.

His ways are higher than ours and purpose to only keep us pure and holy.

When we trust God as our Father, He lovingly cares for us – His beloved children.

Forever and ever. Amen.

Hymn writer: Caroline W. Sandell Berg 1832-1903 (Swedish)

Photos by Gianluca Carenza, Derek Thomson,  Priscilla Du Preez, & Natasha Ivanchikhina on Unsplash

Can I Have It?

Published on by amylinnea2 Comments

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22

Her back ached as she stumbled along the path.

Taking a tissue, she wiped the sweat from her brow.

“How much longer,” she thought aloud to herself.

“When will this load go away? I’m so tired of carrying my entire life every single day.”

She knew why it was so heavy.

She simply couldn’t resist keeping decisions for her alone to make.

She liked that so much, issues multiplied in her bag daily, adding to the weight.

Approaching a hill, she saw a figure, standing on her path.

He looked tall. Kind. Strong.

As she drew near, she recognized who He was. Jesus.

The relief almost caused her to fall down, yet she caught herself.

“Jesus,” she called, “can you please help me?”

Reaching out, she caught his arm as He steadied her on her tired feet.

He placed His hands on her shoulders, removing the burden from her back.

He easily lifted it, placing it down on the ground.

“Why, my daughter, are you carrying something so heavy? Have you forgotten Who I am?”

She looked up at him, unsure of what to say.

He peered into her burden, lifting out the first rock.

“Your marriage. Can I have this one?” Jesus gently asked.

She nodded her head.

He reached in again, this time lifting out three rocks.

“Your children. Can I have them, too?” Jesus asked. “They are safe with me.”

She nodded, tears running down her cheeks.

As Jesus kept reaching into her burden, he brought out all of her rocks, including her job, future, friends, home, and identity.

And each time, she willingly gave them up as Jesus instead placed them into His bag He so easily carried.

Willing to give up control, she whispered, “Thank you, Jesus. You have freed me beyond my wildest dreams.”

Jesus smiled at her, held out His hand, and together they walked down the path of life.

She was now skipping and smiling, fully reliant once more on her God, who created her and her precious little life.

She knew life was back in order with God taking her worries.

Reading her thoughts, Jesus bent down to whisper, “Now don’t try to pick these back up. You were not made to carry them. I was.”

And she wholeheartedly agreed.

Photos by Karsten Würth, Thomas Schweighofer, Marc Rafanell López, &  Olivia Snow on Unsplash

Leave It

Published on by amylinneaLeave a comment

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22

josh-boot-177342

How many burdens do you keep?

Or…

How many burdens do you take back after you give them away to God?

When you lay your burden down, giving it to God,

don’t pick it back up.

We are not made to carry them.

We are sheep.

But our Shepherd is made for the job.

He’s willing and happy to do it.

But we have to make a choice.

To lay the burden down.

And leave it at the foot of the cross.

Jesus might not carry it like you think He should.

Don’t ask for it back.

When your mind thinks of that burden, you begin to think of ways to fix it.

That, my friends, is scooping the burden back up.

Every time your thoughts return to that burden, give it back to God.

Thank Him for fixing it for you.

Tell Him you can’t wait to see How he solves it.

He will let you know.

Promise.

If you instead, keep musing over that issue,

the burden will climb back onto your shoulders.

Worry and fear will once again join you.

So stop.

Give them to God and stop those thoughts in their tracks.

Smile, knowing God’s in control.

And He has your best in mind.

Photos by Yan Berthemy & Catherine on Unsplash