I Will Carry You

The next entry for my Blog is I Will Carry You, which was written by Benjamin Glover and Ellie Holcombe.  It was first released June 15, 2021.  A link to Ellie Holcombe singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog. 

I Will Carry You

I know you’re tired, I see it in your eyes
All that anxiety that rules your mind
I’ll be your shield when you don’t feel like
You’ve got strength enough to fight
I’ll stand by your side

I will carry you
Through your darkest night
When you’re terrified
I will carry you
When the waters rise
When your hope runs dry
I will carry you

You are not the sum of your mistakes
You don’t have to hide the parts of you that ache
I choose you as you are a million times
‘Cause I am not ashamed of you
I won’t walk away from you

I will carry you
Through your darkest night
When you’re terrified
I will carry you
When the waters rise
When your hope runs dry
I will carry you

Up and over the mountains
Valley deep as the ocean
When you can’t keep going
I will shoulder your burdens
Up and over the mountains
Valley deep as the ocean
When you can’t keep going
I will shoulder your burdens

I will carry you
Through your darkest night
When you’re terrified
I will carry you (carry you)
When the waters rise
When your hope runs dry
I will carry you

I will carry you, carry you
Through the darkest night (you)
When you’re terrified
(I will shoulder your burdens)
I will carry you, carry you
When the waters rise (you)
I will carry you

I think we all go through times in our lives when we feel as if we just can’t take another step.  You have become so physically tired and emotionally drained that you just want to curl up in bed and stay there.  You have so much going on in your life that you can’t think straight and all of your strength has completely dissipated.  As you lay down and try to relax, your mind just keeps going as you try to resolve your problems, but there seems to be no off switch for your swirling thoughts.  Have you been in this situation before?  Perhaps you are now.  What is so easy to forget in all of this darkness is that we are never truly alone nor are we a lost cause in life.  God is there to stand with us, to lift us up, to carry us, and to help us fight the battle of life.  Psalm 16:8 reminds us of God’s diligence to each of us, I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” 

The chorus of the song tells us that no matter how dark the world around us may become, God will walk with us.  When we are afraid, he is there to comfort us and help us to feel inner peace and strength that only he can give.  Even as we feel as if we are being swallowed or feel as if we have fallen under the raging storm of fear and guilt; he picks us up and carries us.  He is the only true hope for the hopeless, the only strength for the weak, and the only one who can bring sunshine to our personal world of darkness.  I believe this chorus does a wonderful job explaining how God is with us every step of the way and he will never leave our side.

I have heard people say that they are a complete failure.  They will also say they have never succeeded in any aspect of their life.  These people feel as if they are just one big mistake and have nothing to offer in life.  Perhaps we all feel this way at times, especially when we focus on the negatives of the past in lieu of the brightness of the future.  We look at others around us with their happy families, their high paying jobs, their nice homes; and we wonder what we did wrong that would keep us from having these same wonderful things.  We just keep believing it is because we are not good enough or we have just been a complete failure since the day we were born  God does not look at our life and keep score of positives and negatives, God only looks at what we can be.  The world judges us by our successes and failures, God measures us through the eyes of a father who knows that all of his children are special to him.  It is because of him that we even have a life, and he will never give up on us.  He also understands our fears and our failures, but his arms are always outstretched to hold us.  He is never ashamed of what we have done and will never turn his back on us.  He has a plan for each of us, it may not be a smooth journey; but his plan never fails.  We are told this in the book of Jeremiah 28:11-12, For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”  If we choose to take God’s son as our personal savior, God forgives and forgets all of the bad things we have done in our lives.  He is only focused on what’s ahead for all of eternity, he has forgiven and forgotten our past.  We are who we become, not who we were in the past.

God is with us always and walks with us every step in our journey through life.  He is there to hold our hand and guide us, to carry us when necessary, to encourage us, and bring us hope.  There is no mountain too high for him to climb, no valley too deep, and no sea bottom beyond his reach.  We are told this in the book of Romans 8:38-39,  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”   What more can we ask for in our lives?  God has committed to being there for us and since he created the world, there is nothing that he can’t overcome.

If you are struggling with your past and worried about being all you can be in your future, I recommend listening to this song a few times.  I believe it will bring you hope and allow you to look to the future as you gradually walk away from your past.

God will carry you to where you need to be, if you only let him.

Click to Hear Ellie Holcombe Sing I Will Carry You

You Are My All in All

The next entry for my Blog is You Are My All in All by Dennis Jernigan and first released in 2000. A link to Nicole Nordeman performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

You Are My All in All

You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all

Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord to give up I’d be a fool
You are my all in all

Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name
Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name

Taking my sin my cross my shame
Rising again I bless your name
You are my all in all
When I fall down you pick me up
When I am dry You fill my cup
You are my all in all

Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name
Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name
Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name
Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name
Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name
Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name
Worthy is Your name
Worthy is Your name

When people talk about strengths and weaknesses, they could be referring to physical, emotional, or spiritual. It is easy to understand the physical aspect, there are times when I feel as if I cannot take another step or drive another nail in my shop; I have reached a point of physical exhaustion. There are also times when I am so emotionally drained that I feel as if there are no more tears to shed and that I want to just go to bed and essentially close out the world. I believe all, if not most of us, encounter both of these situations multiple times in our lives. We can also reach points in our lives when we have a spiritual let down, this happens when we lose touch with God. Life happens, and the physical and emotional demands of our day to day lives overwhelm us and there just doesn’t seem to be enough to time or focus to talk to God.

What is amazing about the above is that God is the only one who can give us the physical and emotional strength we need; yet we don’t turn to him first. He will carry us when we need to walk a little farther, he will wipe away the tears of sadness, and he will bring us the spiritual strength we need to conquer the world and the fears it brings. Matthew 19:26 states, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Christ alone has the strength we seek. His love is like a treasure that provides us with everything we need and more than we could ever hope for; he is truly the treasure we should be seeking to overcome the challenges life throws at us.

Jesus is the source of eternal life, the source of hope, the source of peace; that bright and shining jewel of light that encompasses us and protects us. We should look for his light every day of our lives and seek him first instead of last. It doesn’t mean we won’t have challenges or disappointments or heartaches; but, with him, we will never face these events alone. I suppose the writer is correct in that we truly are fools if we think we can go through life without him.

Because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross; we no longer have any sin and we have no shame in the eyes of God. We achieved perfection in the eyes of God once Christ laid down his life for us. To help strengthen our belief, Jesus rose from the dead so we could see him and touch him. He knew, that as humans, we needed this proof that he could conquer death. Everyone thought he was dead and he would never be heard from again, but he knew he needed to prove everyone wrong since our faith is so weak. He could just as easily have told us he was now leaving to prepare a place for us and expect us to remember his promise, but he took the extra step of rising from the dead to show his power and to strengthen our faith in his promises.

Every day, more likely every hour, we fall down in our faith and step back onto the paths of sin. We continue to march once again down this road of despair until we just fall flat on our face again, but Jesus is always there to pick us up; he never gives up on us. No matter where we are physically or emotionally, his hand is always extended to pull us back up and his arms are then open wide for that great big hug that brings us peace and love. As he picks us up, he re-energizes our spirit, our hope, and our love for him. We no longer have an empty cup of loneliness and helplessness; he has filled that cup with love and peace to the point of overflowing.

Christ is the sacrificial lamb, he died for us so we could have an eternal home with him and the father. Without him, we would never be worthy enough to enter heaven; he alone is worthy of our love. Because of him, we can look to an eternity of joy and happiness. He alone is worthy and we were made worthy because of his love and sacrifice.

What else can be more important than seeking the Lamb of God?

Click to Hear Nicole Nordeman Sing You Are My All in All