To Him Belong The Everlasting Arms

I received countless hugs during my recent trip back to the States. Having been away for a couple of years, all those hugs—although most welcome—really caught me off guard. I reckon I just didn’t expect so many. There was one, however, that really stood out to me. That stalwart embrace brought to my mind the following passage from God’s Word:

“There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, ‘Destroy them.’” ~Deuteronomy 33:26-27

I’ve been meditating on that verse for nearly a month now, thanking God for His excellency. What an awesome thought to consider: My God rides over the clouds to help me in my time of need. His arms are the enfolding refuge 'round about my soul. I reach out, reach out and reach out, again and again to the One who is able to sustain every part of me, to the One who has defied all my foes with two words: Destroy them. What comfort, what safety, what love.

That is how I feel as I surrender to His embrace.

A couple of weeks ago, my roomie and I babysat our friends’ children. The youngest, not two years old, grew sleepy-eyed so I sang quietly to him as the two of us gazed through the office window over a peaceful, green field. He fell asleep in my arms. I lay him down with some covers and waited until he was sound so I could leave him to rest but he did not. No…he felt my movements, woke up and sat up with his arms stretched out to me. I tried sitting with him but he wanted me to stand. My arms grew tired so I tried lying down with him this time. Again he awoke, with arms stretched out. This time I asked God to strengthen my arms. And He did. It was so humbling to think that this wee child found true rest, comfort and safety within my arms. Nothing else would do, no other place could satisfy him.

That is when God reminded me—yet again—of His own, strong, everlasting arms. He never grows weary when He is holding us. I looked down to my own arms, now strengthened. How could He grow weary when the object of His love and affection is dependent solely upon Him? As we submit our lives into the care of His outstretched and everlasting arms, His own heart spills over with complete joy. How He longs to feel our heartbeats next to His. How He longs to hear the sound of our relaxed breath next to His ear. How He longs to be trusted as the Protector of our souls. And how He desires to bear the full weight of our weary bodies, of our cares, needs, wants and concerns.

That is how He feels as we surrender to His embrace.

Oh, to forsake every other thing and every other place. Oh, to rest safely and securely, as a trusting child, and to be satisfied only within the embrace of the One who rides across the heavens to help us--The One who sustains us, who fights for us…yea, who has loved (and does love) us with an everlasting love.

Praise Him and bless Him, our Eternal Refuge. For to Him belong the everlasting arms.