November 21, 2024

Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

The Watches of the Night

I look towards the wintering trees to hush my fretful soul
As they rise to face the icy sky and hold fast beneath the snow
Their rings grow wide, their roots go deep that they might hold their height
And stand like valiant soldiers through the watches of the night

No human shoulder ever bears the weight of all the world
But hearts can sink beneath the ache of trouble’s sudden surge
Yet far beyond full knowing there’s a strong unsleeping Light
That reaches round to hold me through the watches of the night

I have cried upon the steps that seem too steep for me to climb
And I’ve prayed against a burden I did not want to be mine
But, here I am and this is where You’re calling me to fight
And You I will remember through the watches of the night
…You I will remember through the watches of the night

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~  *

Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer

Jesus, draw me ever nearer
As I labour through the storm
You have called me to this passage
and I’ll follow, though I’m worn

May this journey bring a blessing
May I rise on wings of faith
And at the end of my heart’s testing
With Your likeness let me wake

Jesus, guide me through the tempest
Keep my spirit staid and sure
When the midnight meets the morning
Let me love You even more

Let the treasures of the trial                                 
Form within me as I go
And at the end of this long passage
Let me leave them at Your throne

Getty Music
The Watches of the Night

Mrs. Kristyn Getty
♥   
Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer
Music by Keith Getty; Words by Margaret Becker

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~  *

I venture to say that you, too, have had times of sleeplessness, leading you to prayer and remembering ‘through the watches of the night.’  In each of our lives there are situations and circumstances that seem to be are a burden we do not want to bear.

Here’s the Truth, my friend: we are not to bear our burdens, our cares, our anxieties, our worries alone.  Our heavenly Father loves you so much and wants to be the Bearer of your burden.

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

Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day,
even the God Who is our salvation! Selah.
Psalm 68:19

He is

  • Jehovah-Jireh (He Who provides)
  • Jehovah-Shalom (He Who is our peace)
  • Jehovah-Rohi (the Shepherd of our souls)

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.
Isaiah 46:4

I love this promise from my God…it settles my heart each and every time I read it.  He has already done the bearing of any burden I could ever perceive!  As Mrs. Getty writes in her poem,

“There’s a strong unsleeping Light that reaches round to hold me
through the watches of the night.”

Almighty God will carry us throughout any wearisome, worrisome, troublesome  situation we are in.  His promises are true and Amen!

So I encourage you (me, too!) to always remember God’s heart towards us when we are feeling overwhelmed and burdened.  He is faithful to His promises, and He cares for you!

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you at the proper time,
casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

Come Thou Fount

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, mount of Thy redeeming love

Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, o take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above

Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, o take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above

O to grace, how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, o take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above
Seal it for Thy courts above

Mormon Tabernacle Choir/Orchestra
Lyrics by Robert Robinson / Tune: ’Nettleton’ by Asahel Nettleton,
This arrangement by Mack Wilberg

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Recently I have been struggling with a situation. I keep turning it over and over in my mind, unable to see how it can be resolved. One day last week, while pondering this issue once again, God placed this song in my heart. I kept coming back to the phrase “…tune my heart to sing Thy grace…”.

Finally it clicked.  The light bulb went on.  My responsibility is not to resolve this situation.  My responsibility is to fix my heart on God and praise Him.  He will deal with the rest.  Look at the following verses:

Rejoice in the Lord, O you [uncompromisingly] righteous
[you upright in right standing with God];
for praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright [in heart].
Psalm 33:1 AMP

The righteous one rejoices in the Lord and takes refuge in Him;
all those who are upright in heart will offer praise.
Psalm 64:10 HCSB

So that we who first hoped in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him
have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory!
so that we who had already put our hope in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory.
Ephesians 1:12 AMP & HCSB

Not once in any of these verses does it say it is up to me to resolve my issues.  Not once!  But it does reiterate over and over again that my purpose is to praise and rejoice in the Lord.  Sounds so simple, doesn’t it?  Yet don’t we all struggle with this?  I am prone to wander and to take the burden on myself.  I don’t know about y’all, but I am a “fixer.”  Maybe that stems from being a wife and mother.  But nowhere in the above Scriptures does it say it is my responsibility to fix things. In fact, the following passages indicate that it is not my place to fix anything on my own.

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you;
Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you.
Psalm 55:22a AMP & NLT

Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day,
even the God Who is our salvation!
Psalm 68:19

Doesn’t that lift your spirits and make your heart smile?  God bears our burdens. He is in control.  All we need to do is fix our wandering hearts on Him and sing His praises.  He will handle the rest.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Sing this verse with me as we make it our heartfelt prayer:

O to grace, how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, o take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above
Seal it for Thy courts above

I’m Gonna Lay It Down

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I’ve been lookin’ till my eyes are tired of lookin’
Listenin’ till my ears are numb from listenin’
Prayin’ till my knees are sore from kneelin’ on the bedroom floor
I know that You know that my heart is achin’
I’m running out of tears and my will is breakin’
I don’t think that I can carry the burden of it anymore
All of my hopes and my dreams and my best-laid plans
Are slowly slippin’ through my folded hands

So I’m gonna lay it down
I’m gonna learn to trust You now
What else can I do
‘Cause everything I am depends on You
And if the sun don’t come back up
I know Your love will be enough
I’m gonna let it be, I’m gonna let it go,
I’m gonna lay it down

I’ve been walkin’ through this world like I’m barely livin’
Buried in the doubt of this hole I’ve been diggin’
But You’re pullin’ me out
I’m finally breathin’ in the open air
This room may be dark but I’m finally seein’
There’s a new ray of hope, and now I’m believin’
That the past is past, and the future’s beginning to look brighter now
Oh, cause all of my hopes and my dreams and my best-laid plans
Are safe and secure when I place them in Your hands

Jaci Velasquez
songwriters: Jay Jenkins, Miquel Scott, Lee Dixon, Jacoby White, Jasper Cameron

*  ~  ♥  ~   ✞   ~  ♥  ~  *

This song reveals the brokenness of my heart every single time I hear it…and for that I am oh-so-very thankful!  Each of us has burdens and cares and concerns…some days it seems they are more than we can bear.  To think that they will not happen and that one can walk through this life without them is to deny the Truth.  However, they are not ours to carry or bear on our own.  Throughout the Scriptures, we are told that the Lord will bear them for us.

Blessed be the Lord,
Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day,
even the God Who is our salvation! Selah
Psalm 68:19

Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me,
because I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30

The burdens, the concerns, the cares of this life can turn into worries, doubts, fears if we do not bring them to our Lord letting Him take care of them.  We are to humbly recognize our great need for Jesus, and all that He has already done and promised to do for us, because He cares for us.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God
so that at the proper time He may exalt you,
casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6 and 7

Listen to Jesus’ admonition and promises in Matthew chapter 6;  as you read along, put your own name wherever there is a , ok?

Therefore I tell you, , stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on.  ,  is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you, , not worth much more than they?
And, , who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?
And why should you, ,  be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.
Yet I tell you,, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, , which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry and be anxious,, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you, ,  need them all.
But seek first of all His kingdom and His righteousness, , and then all these things will be given you besides.
So do not worry, , or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own.  Sufficient for each day, , is its own trouble. (emphasis added)

Jesus’ words are full of action for us to take, true…but not the action of taking care of ourselves. Rather, He tells us to

  • stop being perpetually uneasy
  • look at (and consider) the birds of the air
  • consider the lilies of the field
  • do not worry and be anxious
  • seek first of all His kingdom
  • <and again> do not worry or be anxious

This is not always easy to do…but it is what we are to do in obedience.  It is a moment-by-moment choice.  Will we stop…look…consider…not worry or be anxious…and seek His kingdom OR will we have worry, doubt, fear, be anxious, and try to bear our own burdens, concerns, and cares?

I pray for you that TODAY you will choose to trust and say,
I’m gonna let it be, I’m gonna let it go, I’m gonna lay it down
in Jesus’ powerful name, amen.”
(Will you, please, pray that for me, too?)

I’m Gonna Lay It Down

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I’ve been lookin’ till my eyes are tired of lookin’
Listenin’ till my ears are numb from listenin’
Prayin’ till my knees are sore from kneelin’ on the bedroom floor
I know that You know that my heart is achin’
I’m running out of tears and my will is breakin’
I don’t think that I can carry the burden of it anymore
All of my hopes and my dreams and my best-laid plans
Are slowly slippin’ through my folded hands

So I’m gonna lay it down
I’m gonna learn to trust You now
What else can I do
‘Cause everything I am depends on You
And if the sun don’t come back up
I know Your love will be enough
I’m gonna let it be, I’m gonna let it go,
I’m gonna lay it down

I’ve been walkin’ through this world like I’m barely livin’
Buried in the doubt of this hole I’ve been diggin’
But You’re pullin’ me out
I’m finally breathin’ in the open air
This room may be dark but I’m finally seein’
There’s a new ray of hope, and now I’m believin’
That the past is past, and the future’s beginning to look brighter now
Oh, cause all of my hopes and my dreams and my best-laid plans
Are safe and secure when I place them in Your hands

Jay Jenkins, Miquel Scott, Lee Dixon, Jacoby White, Jasper Cameron
Jaci Velasquez

* ~ ♥ ~ ~ ♥ ~ *

This song reveals the brokenness of my heart every single time I hear it…and for that I am oh-so-very thankful!  Each of us has burdens and cares and concerns…some days it seems they are more than we can bear.  To think that they will not happen and that one can walk through this life without is to deny the Truth.  However, they are not ours to carry and bear on our own.  Throughout the Scriptures, we are told that the Lord will bear them for us.

Blessed be the Lord,
Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day,
even the God Who is our salvation! Selah
Psalm 68:19

Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me,
because I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30

The burdens, the concerns, the cares of this life can turn into worries, doubts, fears if we do not bring them to our Lord letting Him take care of them. We are to humbly recognize our great need for Jesus, and all that He has already done and promised to do for us, because He cares for us.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God
so that at the proper time He may exalt you,
casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6 and 7

Listen to Jesus’ admonition and promises in Matthew chapter 6;  as you read along, put your own name wherever there is a , ok?

Therefore I tell you, , stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on.  ,  is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you,, not worth much more than they?
And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?
And why should you, ,  be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.
Yet I tell you, , even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, , which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry and be anxious, , saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you, ,  need them all.
But seek first of all His kingdom and His righteousness, , and then all these things will be given you besides.
So do not worry, , or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own.  Sufficient for each day is its own trouble. (emphasis added)

Jesus’ words are full of action for us to take, true…but not the action of taking care of ourselves. Rather, He tells us to

  • stop being perpetually uneasy
  • look at (and consider) the birds of the air
  • consider the lilies of the field
  • do not worry and be anxious
  • seek first of all His kingdom
  • <and again> do not worry or be anxious

This is not always easy to do…but they are what we are to do in obedience.  It is a moment-by-moment choice.  Will we stop…look…consider…not worry or be anxious…and seek His kingdom OR will we have worry, doubt, fear, anxiety, and bear our own burdens, concerns, and cares.

I pray for you that TODAY you will choose to trust and say, “I’m gonna let it be, I’m gonna let it go, I’m gonna lay it down…in Jesus’ powerful name, amen.”  (Will you, please, pray that for me, too?)

Lay It Down

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I’ve been lookin’ till my eyes are tired of lookin’
Listenin’ till my ears are numb from listenin’
Prayin’ till my knees are sore from kneelin’ on the bedroom floor
I know that you know that my heart is achin’
I’m running out of tears and my will is breakin’
I don’t think that I can carry the burden of it anymore
All of my hopes and my dreams and my best-laid plans
Are slowly slippin’ through my folded hands

So I’m gonna lay it down
I’m gonna learn to trust You now
What else can I do
‘Cause everything I am depends on You
And if the sun don’t come back up
I know Your love will be enough
I’m gonna let it be, I’m gonna let it go,
I’m gonna lay it down

I’ve been walkin’ through this world like I’m barely livin’
Buried in the doubt of this hole I’ve been diggin’
But You’re pullin’ me out
I’m finally breathin’ in the open air
This room may be dark but I’m finally seein’
There’s a new ray of hope, and now I’m believin’
That the past is past, and the future’s beginning to look brighter now
Oh, cause all of my hopes and my dreams and my best-laid plans
Are safe and secure when I place them in Your hands 

Singer / Songwriter – Jaci Velasquez
* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ * 

Each of us has burdens and cares and concerns…some days it seems they are more than we can bear.  To think you can walk through this life without them is to deny the Truth.  However, they are not ours to carry and bear on our own. Throughout the Scriptures, we are told that the Lord will bear them for us.

Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day,
even the God Who is our salvation! Selah
Psalm 68:19

Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me,
because I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30

The burdens, the concerns, the cares of this life can turn into worries, doubts, fears if we do not bring them to our Father letting Him take care of them. We are to humbly recognize our great need for our Great God, and all that He has promised to do for us, because He cares for us.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God
so that at the proper time He may exalt you,
casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6 and 7

Let’s listen to Jesus’ admonition and promises in Matthew chapter 6:

Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?
And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?
And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.
Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.
But seek first of all His kingdom and His righteousness, and then all these things will be given you besides.
So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.

Jesus’ words are full of action for us to take…but not the action of taking care of ourselves. Rather, our Lord and Master tells us to–

  • stop being perpetually uneasy
  • look at (and consider) the birds of the air
  • consider the lilies of the field
  • do not worry and be anxious
  • seek (first of all) His kingdom
  • <again> do not worry or be anxious

These are not always easy to do…but they are what we are to do in obedience. The choice, moment by moment, is ours (yours and mine)—will we stop… look…consider…not worry or be anxious…but seek His kingdom OR will we worry, doubt, have anxiety and fear.

* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ *

I am praying for you that TODAY you will choose to trust and say, “I’m gonna let it be, I’m gonna let it go, I’m gonna lay it down…in Jesus’ powerful name, amen.” (Will you pray that for me, too?  I’d be so appreciative!)

 

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace.
Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I come,
And I hope by Thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.

Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God.
He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.

O to grace, how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Lyrics: Robert Robinson / Tune: ’Nettleton’ Asahel Nettleton,
This arrangement by Mack Wilberg

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Recently I have been struggling with a situation. I keep turning it over and over in my mind, unable to see how it can be resolved. One day last week, while pondering this issue once again, God placed this song in my heart. I kept coming back to the phrase “…tune my heart to sing Thy grace…”.

Finally it clicked.  The light bulb went on.  My responsibility is not to resolve this situation.  My responsibility is to fix my heart on God and praise Him.  He will deal with the rest.  Look at the following verses:

Rejoice in the Lord, O you [uncompromisingly] righteous
[you upright in right standing with God];
for praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright [in heart].
Psalm 33:1 AMP

The righteous one rejoices in the Lord and takes refuge in Him;
all those who are upright in heart will offer praise.
Psalm 64:10 HCSB

So that we who first hoped in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him
have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory!
so that we who had already put our hope in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory.
Ephesians 1:12 AMP & HCSB

Not once in any of these verses does it say it is up to me to resolve my issues.  Not once!  But it does reiterate over and over again that my purpose is to praise and rejoice in the Lord.  Sounds so simple, doesn’t it?  Yet we all struggle with this, don’t we?  I am prone to wander and to take the burden on myself.  I don’t know about y’all, but I am a “fixer.”  Maybe that stems from being a wife and mother.  But nowhere in the above verses does it say it is my responsibility to fix things. In fact, the following verses indicate that it is not my place to fix anything on my own.

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you;
Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you.
Psalm 55:22a AMP & NLT

Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day,
even the God Who is our salvation!
Psalm 68:19

Doesn’t that lift your spirits and make your heart smile?  God bears our burdens. He is in control.  All we need to do is fix our wandering hearts on Him and sing His praises.  He will handle the rest.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Sing this verse with me as we make it our heartfelt prayer:

“O to grace, how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.
Seal it for Thy courts above.”

The Watches Of The Night

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv
~  Listen while you read, please!  ~

I look towards the wintering trees to hush my fretful soul
As they rise to face the icy sky and hold fast beneath the snow
Their rings grow wide, their roots go deep that they might hold their height
And stand like valiant soldiers through the watches of the night

No human shoulder ever bears the weight of all the world
But hearts can sink beneath the ache of trouble’s sudden surge
Yet far beyond full knowing there’s a strong unsleeping Light
That reaches round to hold me through the watches of the night

I have cried upon the steps that seem too steep for me to climb
And I’ve prayed against a burden I did not want to be mine
But, here I am and this is where You’re calling me to fight
And You I will remember through the watches of the night
…You I will remember through the watches of the night

~  The Watches of the Night, Mrs. Krysten Getty / Getty Music  ~

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

I venture to say that you, too, have had times of sleeplessness, leading you to prayerfulness and remembering ‘through the watches of the night.’  In each of our lives there are situations and circumstances that seem to be are a burden we do not want to bear.

Here’s the Truth, my friend: we are not to bear our burdens, our cares, our anxieties, our worries alone.  Our heavenly Father loves you so much and wants to be the Bearer of your burden.

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

Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day,
even the God Who is our salvation! Selah.
Psalm 68:19

He is

  • Jehovah-Jireh (He Who provides)
  • Jehovah-Shalom (He Who is our peace)
  • Jehovah-Rohi (the Shepherd of our souls)

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.
Isaiah 46:4

I love this promise from my God…it settles my heart each time.  He has already done the bearing of any burden I could ever perceive!  As Mrs. Getty writes in her poem, “There’s a strong unsleeping Light that reaches round to hold me through the watches of the night.”  Almighty God will carry us throughout any wearisome, worrisome situation we are in.  His promises are true and Amen!

So I encourage you (me, too!) to always remember God’s heart towards us when we are feeling overwhelmed and burdened.  He is faithful to His promises, and He cares for you!

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you at the proper time,
casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7