God's Tender Love

God’s Tender Love

Feel yourself carried by the most comforting and protective arms in the universe:

Deuteronomy 1:31 . . . the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.

Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you . . .

Isaiah 46:3 Listen to me, O house of Jacob, . . . you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. (4) Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

Isaiah 63:9 In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

As a little child is frequently lifted by its parent, so God lifts you up into his arms:

Psalms 40:2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

Psalms 145:14 The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.

Picture yourself as a little, trusting child holding the strongest, yet gentlest hand in the world:

Psalms 37:24 though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

Psalms 63:8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Psalms 73:23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

Psalms 139:10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:13 For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

Isaiah 42:6 I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. . . .

Scripture shows the Lord not as a father who only becomes involved with his children when they get older, but someone who tends to a baby’s needs from the moment of birth, even teaching the baby to walk:

Psalms 22:9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast. (10) From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Psalms 71:6 From my birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.

Isaiah 1:2 Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.”

Hosea 11:3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. (4) I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.

Here’s yet another beautiful picture of God’s tender love:

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.

Footnote: Not until several weeks after compiling the above did I realize that every verse is from the Old Testament. That might shatter some people’s view of the Old Testament. The God of the New Testament is truly the God of the Old.