“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 save you.” (Isa.46:4)
“The one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.” (Deut.33:12).
Lord Jesus, thank you for a wonderful week in the North Woods of Wisconsin with friends. We arrived at the peak of the Fall leaf colors and leave a day or two past peak. It’s amazing how fast the leaves are now letting go, floating down, and covering everything like a blanket of fading glory. That’s not a sad thing but a cyclical thing—the cycle of life.
Soon this area will enjoy being covered a different blanket—a blanket of white snow and the joys associated with winter tastes, sports, and life. The very waters we fished from a boat will be fished through holes in the ice. The sounds of boat motors will be replaced with the sounds of snow mobiles, and the next round of shared joys, challenges, and changes.
My instinct this morning was to check my schedule to see what’s next on my schedule; but my biggest takeaway from this week is that life is much more about Who is next than what is next—starting with you, Jesus. I know what’s on my calendar, but I really don’t know what’s around the corner. That’s completely in your hands, Jesus—just like I am.
And as the verses above affirm—there’s no better “next” in life than to belong to you Jesus. You have made us, redeemed us, sustain us, carry us, and will save us all the way Home. To rest between your shoulders isn’t just to be carried on your back but also embraced in your arms. We know what’s next on our schedules, but only you know what’s next in your heart for us. May that be sweeter, freeing, and more comforting than ever, Jesus. So Very Amen.
