Keep it Simple Sweetheart
Before beginning I want to include a note about the title.
This post is based on a talk I gave a number of years ago. The theme was the comfort and care the Lord offers as He leads us, His flock. I called it a “Good Night Kiss.” In my early thoughts and struggles on what to share I kept repeating to myself a common catch phrase at the time: “Keep it simple stupid.” After a time spent struggling with what to share all those years ago, in faith, I felt a nudge from the Lord saying, and correcting me: “Keep it simple sweetheart.” The Lord frowns when we degrade ourselves or when anyone degrades us. We are His creation and He loves us intensely. He did not like having me call myself stupid. So, He sent correction. Keep it simple and understandable my child was the direction I heard all those years ago. The words were loving and affirmative. While admonished, I never felt shame, just love and encouragement. The Lord never ever shames us. He might bring correction but we know we are loved beyond all reason when He brings correction. (Proverbs 3: 11 & 12 “My son do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.” (See also Revelation 3:19, the instructions to the church at Laodicea.)
Isaiah 40:11 “He tends his flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”
I love this word picture of the Lord’s caring for us, His sheep! Close, tender, gentle, loving care and attention. Held close to His chest where we are warm and can feel and hear His heart beat. This is the caring attention given to the very young, or those who are very young in their walk with the Lord. It is the tender care and attention given those who are timid, injured, sick , rejected , abused or wounded. He gently, softly, cares for and leads those who are wounded, those who have young following them, or those who are tempted to call themselves stupid! The shepherd leads his flock to good fresh water and food. He knows their needs better than they know their own! He rubs healing salve into their various wounds, mental, emotional or physical. Our Good Shepherd is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 40: 30 & 31 “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Eagles nest high in the trees. Both parents, who mate for life, tend the nests and the young. Eagles are known for their swiftness, their eye sight, strength and their faithfulness. They are also known for their commitment! They use the same nest year after year, rebuilding it as necessary, but in the same tree! The mother eagle feathers the nest and makes it soft and protective. When the fledglings begin to grow and the nest seems small due to the size of the young it is the father’s job to take out the soft lining and then to urge and even push the young out of the nest. However, the parents watch closely as the young begin to fly. If the young eaglet tires in flight the parent swoops in and catches the young on its outstretched wings.
We may grow tired or weary from time to time. At times life can be hard or even cruel. Sometimes the burdens we carry might make our shoulders slump. We can rest assured that He will effortlessly allow us to rest in His care. He has committed Himself to care for and guide us to spiritual maturity. He has committed Himself to see us all the way home to Him.
Eagles are known for their keen eye site. In flight, eagles soar high above the earth. This gives the eagle prospective.
If you are on the ground in the center of Houston, or any city, the buildings loom large overhead and your view is obstructed. You can see what is around you but you cannot see very far ahead or the pattern of the city’s streets.
We often do not see the entire picture when looking at a problem. When we rely on the Holy Spirit we see things from God’s prospective. We can see the big picture. The problem is laid out like a patch work quilt viewed from The Father's vantage point.
When we turn our problems over to God we get the prospective of the Holy Spirit. We are able to “fly above” the congestion and see where we might be going. We see the whole picture and pattern not just the tyranny of the immediate situation.
We can rely on the Holy Spirit. We can ride on the wings of the Holy Spirit, resting in God’s care. We can relax knowing that He will bring us to maturity. When we are weary, His Holy Spirit renews us. We have His view of the problem.
Deuteronomy 33:27a: “The Eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms…….”
A toddler meeting a new person or in an unfamiliar situation may turn its face away or grasp its mother’s skirt and hide its face. The parent reaches down and scoops up the child in their protective arms.
The Lord’s everlasting arms are always ready to reach out to us and scoop us into His protective embrace.
Psalm 37: 23 & 24 “If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”
A young child's father has a firm grip on the child's hand when crossing the street or in a crowded place. The father’s steps are firm and steady. The father will allow his child to experience the event but will not allow the child to fall or to run into danger. Should the child stumble or start to bolt the father’s grip keeps the child from falling or getting lost in the crowd. So too, our heavenly Father has a grip on us and will not allow us to falter. God is not going to let you cross a twelve lane freeway alone. Whether your “freeway” is a new job, sticky personalities or difficult circumstances, an illness or loss of one you love you are not alone. God does not just grasp your fingers. God’s hand is large enough to encompass your whole life. His hold is firm and secure.
Deut. 33: 12 Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.
Ah! A Piggy back ride! The Beloved gets a piggy Back Ride. It’s fun! You are held securely. When you are tired the Father walks for you. You are touched, affectionately, picked up held and given a rest on the Father’s shoulders. On his dad’s shoulders the child might grab his dad’s hair, put his face next to His dad’s face, and touch affectionately. The child sees from the father’s prospective and sees where the father is going.
When you turn to the Lord, you see where The Father is going. On His shoulders you see from The Father’s prospective! From the ground level we might be overwhelmed by the size of our problem. We might see the problem as very large. Too large to handle and overwhelming. If we do this we place God in a position of being too small and ineffectual to handle our problem. If we rely on God, placing our selves on the Father’s shoulders, we see the problem from God’s prospective. Best of all, we are not striving alone. We have HIS help and guidance.
2 Tim. 4: 17–18 “The Lord stood by my side and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.”
Here we are, still His children but grown up and ready to serve Him. He is by our side all the way giving us strength to carry out the good works that He prepared in advance for us.
See Acts 17:24 - 28
Verse 27 & 28 sum it up as follows: “God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.”
As infants we are carried close to His heart, in a warm secure place. When we are hurt, confused or abused He is there to cradle us again. As toddlers he holds us close. We can look over his shoulder and see where he has been. As we get a little older we are picked up and we can see where the father is going. In times of “traffic “ or trouble He holds us tight and secure and we know that he will not allow us to fall. Finally, we can stand beside the father as he sends us forward to the task he provided for us to accomplish. However, we can rest secure in the knowledge that he will never ever leave or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5b) Again and again, as often as necessary, He will scoop us up and hold us close and bind up all our wounds. All we need to do is reach out our arms to Him and call softly:"Dad I need you.".
With praise and thanksgiving to the Lord of Lords who has rescued me more times that I can count and sent His touch and guidance in more ways that I can begin to enumerate. I remain His very needy child.
mary schmerker
