Care

But God carries us

Isaiah 46:2-4, 8-9 [The Lord says] “Both the idols and their owners are bowed down. The gods cannot protect the people, and the people cannot protect the gods. They go off into captivity together. Listen to me. I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. … Do not forget this! Keep it in mind! Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God and there is none like me.”

Romans 8:38 Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.

“Reader! When you write my story, be sure to tell what God did for me today. Only God could have done this. I want everyone everywhere to know there is nothing and no one else like Him for us to depend on. I want my experience to show others how much He cares for them too. Grief and pain can blind us to God’s presence and love—I know. But He is walking with us, each one of us.”

Comments like this one began showing up in Karis’s journals when she was a teenager, as did her comment, “All I see is grace.” Pain and grief were abundant in her life, but greater and deeper was her confidence in God’s care for her. “We’re all the same,” I heard her say again and again. “None of us can do life by ourselves. Each one of us needs the Lord to carry us through. Maybe it’s just a little more obvious for me.”

Isaiah 46, “I made you and I will care for you,” is at the heart of my novels, too. My deepest desire is that they will give readers hope, hope for God’s presence and care to undergird their own lives and struggles and challenges.

In 2016, Jen Wilkin published a beautiful little book called None Like Him, taking the title from Isaiah 46:9. The subtitle is Ten Ways God Is Different from Us (and Why That’s a Good Thing). I plan to re-read it this fall and encourage you to read it as well, in preparation for your celebration of Christmas. I would love to hear how it expands your understanding of God and his care for you!