Supported by God's caring love
Many of us have been using the Bible daily for many years. It's comforting to open familiar verses and snuggle up to them, as if a warm blanket were touching us. It's precisely this familiarity that can cause us to overlook details. When we approach the Bible with alert minds and from a fresh perspective, the Holy Spirit grants additional insights and recalls forgotten things.
As I recently reread the Acts of the Apostles, I came across a passage I had often overlooked without consciously noticing it. In Antioch, the ruler of the synagogue gave the floor to Paul, who proclaimed: "The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made a great people in their exile in the land of Egypt, and brought them out from there with a mighty arm, and for forty years he carried them in the wilderness" (Acts 1:1-4).3,17-18).
The Schlachter Bible renders the same passage as follows: "He endured their kind in the wilderness for about 40 years." This phrase stuck with me, and I concluded that God had merely reluctantly tolerated the grumbling people, as if carrying a heavy burden. Then I came across the parallel passage: "And you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place" (5. Mose 1,31).
This verse opened my eyes to a whole new world. Of course, God had provided for the people. They received food, water, and shoes that didn't wear out. Yet, until then, I had failed to realize how intimately He was involved in their daily lives. It's encouraging to read that the Lord truly carried His people, just as a father lovingly holds his son or daughter. I can't remember ever perceiving this truth so clearly. We, too, are overcome by the feeling that God finds us difficult to bear and grows tired of our constant worries. Our requests often sound similar, and transgressions recur. Yet He reliably provides for us, even when we complain or act like ungrateful Israel. It is important to Him that we give thanks rather than complain. Believers can tire and burn out. Then the brothers and sisters quickly seem tiring, and we believe we simply have to shoulder their burdensome requests. To bear means to reluctantly accept something unpleasant. God certainly doesn't see us that way.
We all belong to God's family and need respectful, compassionate, and loving companionship. When the Holy Spirit fills us with God's love, we are able to truly love our neighbors instead of merely tolerating them. If necessary, we can even carry someone whose strength fails along the way. Let us remember that God not only provided for his people in the desert, but carried them in his loving arms. Likewise, he continues to carry you, never ceasing to love and care for you, even when you grumble and forget to give thanks.
by Tammy Tkach
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