Beloved - by Bec Bonython

Deuteronomy 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.

This is my all-time favourite scripture. The imagery of this verse captures my heart and and gives us a glimpse into of one of the many facets of the Lord.

I see two images:

One of a little baby or young child who leans their head on the chest of a parent – between their shoulders. The heartbeat of the parent soothes the child into a gentle rest. Instinctively, the parent wraps their arms around the child and the baby feel safe, comforted, protected. They are loved, cherished, warm and nurtured – nothing can hurt them because they are resting in the arms of their mum or dad.

This is how the Lord wants us to be with him. He wants us to get up close to Him, close enough so that we can place our head on His chest and feel His heartbeat. As we do this, our heart aligns with His heart. Our thoughts, words, actions and plans align with His. What breaks His heart, breaks our heart. What brings Him joy, brings us joy. What He detests, we detest. What He loves, we love. When we allow that to happen, we find rest, we find peace. We feel secure in Him because our heart is at one with His. As we lean into the Lord, we feel loved, cherished, warm and nurtured. We know we are safe in His arms no matter what happens, and He will shield us all day long.

The other imagery I see is of a young child sitting on top of dad’s shoulders. Dads, I’m sure you’ve all done it. When your small child is tired of walking they pop up onto of your shoulders. You hold their arms above your head or they wrap their arms around your shoulders and you hold onto their legs. From up on dad’s shoulders the view of the world is big and vastly different from when they are walking 2 - 3 feet from the ground. Rather than just seeing people’s legs, up on dad’s shoulders they can see everything! They can see the trees, the buildings, the cars, the birds. They can see for hundreds of metres. Their perspective changes up on dad’s shoulders.

Can I encourage you, that when you are weary, disheartened, anxious, concerned and you’re not sure if you can keep going, allow the Lord to reach down and pick you up. Stop trying to keep walking by yourself, but allow the Lord to pop you up on His shoulders so that you can find rest. As you allow Him to do that, He will give you a different perspective of your circumstance. You will be able to see more from His perspective than when you were walking by yourself......looking at people’s legs! You will be able to make wiser decisions, have greater clarity of thought, realise that you are not alone, have reassurance knowing that there are others who have gone before you. Upon the Lord shoulders you will find rest. He will carry you, He will strengthen you and He will hold you in His righteous right hand. (Is 41:10).