Chapter 3: 5
The Lord Gathers Me Up
"Prayer of Containment"
“When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take care of me (literally: gather)” (Psalm 27: 10).
The second treatment, which the Lord does with us, is that He gathers us up (takes care of us).
In today's world of individualism, independence, and selfishness, and the self-centeredness of everyone, the increase in preoccupation, lack of time, the decline of love, and the disintegration of the family, no one may be there to give you emotional support. Fathers or mothers may be absent physically or emotionally. When the natural sources of love and containment dry up, the Lord is there gathering us up. He is the Lover, closer than a brother.
We may be left by parents or family and friends because of travel or immigration, or physical distance, or because of family problems and human weakness, but we can not be forsaken by the Lord, who does not only hear us, but He also gathers us up.
In the presence of the Lord you experience
the Divine containment of your scattered thoughts,
and your troubled feelings
and your wobbly will;
when the Lord declares His presence and His authority and power to you.
The dealings of Divine comfort, by the Holy Spirit and in His presence, are to collect the scattered pieces of your mind and your emotions and your will, and to dissipate the clouds of anxiety and fear.
When Gideon and Moses and Jeremiah were fearful of the magnitude of their responsibilities, and the lack of their abilities, the Divine response to the three of them was one: “I am with you.”
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand… For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you’” (Isaiah 41: 10, 13).
Notice the power of these words “strengthen… uphold… help.”
The continuing accompaniment of the Lord with us makes us confident. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23: 4).
Therefore, “Let us come with confidence to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4: 16)… in His presence then, you experience His Divine accompaniment and Divine care for you.
Look at Elisha’s servant, who feared and was agitated and trembled, as he saw the iron chariots and horses. What did Elisha, the man of God, do? He said to him, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6: 16). And he prayed for the Lord to open his eyes and vision; and he looked and saw the mountain full of horses and vehicles on fire around Elisha. Then he was able to experience “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8: 31).
When the springs of human love dry up, throw yourself into the arms of Divine love.
Magdy Samuel