“Nature’s fragile vessel doth sustain, In life’s uncertain voyage…” Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens (Act 5, Scene 1)
Timon’s words, spoken sarcastically, mean that our fragile bodies must sustain us through physical hardship and the pangs of love and loss. I think we can all agree that life is an uncertain voyage and we need others’ help. According to Scripture, it is God who constantly promises to support, bear our weight, and provide for us—to sustain us so we are not crushed by bitterness.
Cast your cares on Him, He will sustain you
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22 NIV
Some nights, I lie in bed, ruminating and worrying. About my children, family, friends, neighbors, the state of the world. To break the worry cycle, instead of counting sheep I become a sheep and pray to the Good Shepherd. Casting my anxieties and the burdens weighing on my heart onto Him with specificity—and here’s how and why.
From Bob Hostetler’s “5 Great Reasons to Pray Specifically.”
- Praying for specific needs clarifies our minds.
- Praying for specific needs helps us define our needs.
- Praying for specific needs emphasizes our dependence on and intimacy with God.
- Praying for specific needs makes us more alert to answers.
- Praying for specific needs increases our faith.
God’s plans are in the details. Specific praises, thanks, and requests focus our minds, missions, relationships, and prayers on Him. God does not promise to remove our struggles, but He does promise to provide the strength to endure them. If we trade self-reliance for reliance on Him, He promises to give us His firm foundation to sustain us. Notice the echo of David’s Psalm 55 in 1 Peter 5:7—Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
He will sustain all things, by His powerful Word
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3 NIV
In May1967, the Beatles released “Getting Better” as a track on their album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Though written mostly by the more optimistic Paul McCartney, the song also includes lyrics by the more pessimistic John Lennon: Me used to be angry young man, Me hiding me head in the sand. You gave me the word, I finally heard, I’m doing the best that I can. In later years, Lennon admitted his violent abuse of people, women in particular. He was the “used to be angry young man” but came to believe in peace. Who the “You” is that gave him and/or McCartney “the word I finally heard” we’re not sure. We do know the final event in Lennon’s life and can only hope he found God’s peace.
For the past several years, I’ve begun my day by reading and writing “the word You gave me and I finally heard” in my journal, including Hebrews 1:3. This verse declares Jesus Christ as the divine representation of God. After dying on the cross for our sins, He rose again and sits at God’s right hand. His powerful word sustains the universe and is supreme over all creation for all time.
Even to old age, He will sustain you
Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4 NIV
Becoming old does not replace who we were before. As Andrea Carlisle wrote in There Was an Old Woman: Reflections on these strange, surprising, shining years, “Who we become in old age is the elder within who finally manifests.” Keith and I are the sum of our past selves: children, adolescents, young adults with children, adults with adolescents, and mature adults with adult children, as we were when we met in 2003. Now over twenty years later, the old man and woman have joined the party.
Isaiah 46:4 proclaims God’s faithfulness. He made us and sustains us, carrying, protecting, and rescuing us through every stage of life. “Womb to tomb.” His love does not fade as we grow old. He is the same reliable God in our old age as when we were children. These days, Keith and I trust His sustaining grace more than ever. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Who was and is and will be forever and ever. Amen.
Linkup with Five Minute Friday.
Subscribe to Notes from Vanaprastha Podcasts on my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CaroleDuff
Subscribe to Notes from Vanaprastha: https://caroleduff.com
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carole.duff2010/
Subscribe to my Friday Happy Hours Substack: https://substack.com/@caroleduff305076
0 Comments