CARRIED BY THE ALMIGHTY

Scripture Reading
Deuteronomy 1:30-31 ‘The LORD your God, Who is going before you, will fight for you, as He did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.’

Introduction
– Life is a journey, and none of us knows exactly what the road ahead will hold.
– There will be wonderful seasons when everything seems to fall into place, but there will also be wilderness seasons when the way forward feels difficult and uncertain.
– Sometimes we feel strong enough for the journey, and at other times we wonder how we will make it through.
– The wonderful truth is that God never intended for us to make the journey alone.
– Here we see a beautiful picture of how God deals with His children.
– He goes ahead of us. He fights for us. He brings us through the wilderness.
– He lifts us up and carries us, until we reach the place He has prepared for us.
– Looking back, the Israelites could see something they may not always have recognised while they were going through it: God had carried them all the way.
– Perhaps when you look back over your own life, you can see the same thing.
– There were times when you thought you would never make it, but somehow the Lord brought you through.
– There were moments when your strength failed, but His strength carried you.
– The Almighty God is still carrying His children today.

1. THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE IS IN HIS ARMS
– God can safely carry and preserve us through difficult and dangerous situations.
– What a wonderful picture Deuteronomy gives us: ‘The LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son.’
– God does not delegate this responsibility to someone else.
– He carries us Himself.
– He doesn’t hand His children to someone else and hope that everything will work out.
– He takes personal responsibility for those who belong to Him.
– The Lord is not a distant God Who watches our struggles from afar.
– He hears our cries, sees our needs, and remains involved in every detail of our lives.
– Isaiah 40:11 ‘He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.’
– There are times when a child can walk alongside a father, and there are times when that same child needs to be picked up and carried.
– God knows when you can walk, and He knows when you need to be carried.
– When we realise that His everlasting arms are underneath us, we discover that there is no safer way to travel through life.
– Human wisdom, strength, and security can fail us, but His arms will never fail.
– Deuteronomy 33:27 says: ‘The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.’
– When this becomes a reality in our hearts, fear begins to lose its grip.
– You are safe in the arms of the Almighty.

2. THE LORD WILL GO BEFORE YOU
– Deuteronomy 1:30 ‘The LORD your God, Who is going before you…’
– Before God carried Israel, He went ahead of them.
– They were travelling through unfamiliar territory, but God had already gone before them.
– The Lord visibly led Israel through the wilderness with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
– His presence showed them where to go.
– His presence guarded them.
– His presence reminded them that they were not alone.
– Entering the Promised Land was not an uncertain adventure into territory God knew nothing about.
– God knew exactly where He was taking them.
– In the same way, the Lord knows the road ahead of you.
– You may be stepping into something you have never experienced before, but God is already there.
– Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepherd Who goes ahead of His sheep.
– John 10:4 says: ‘He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice.’
– We don’t have to know everything that lies ahead; we simply need to know and follow the One Who does.
– When the future feels uncertain, remind yourself: God has already gone ahead of me.

3. THE LORD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU
– Deuteronomy 1:30 ‘The LORD your God… will fight for you.’
– We were never meant to face every battle in our own strength.
– Our strength, resources, determination, and human ability were never meant to be our ultimate source of victory.
– Israel faced enemies that were greater and stronger than they were.
– If victory depended entirely on their own strength, they had every reason to be afraid.
– But God was their Divine Warrior.
– Exodus 14:14 says: ‘The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.’
– The Lord had already defeated Pharaoh and the armies of Egypt.
– He had already demonstrated that no enemy was too powerful for Him.
– The same God Who conquered the enemies of His people has conquered sin and death through Jesus Christ.
– There will be battles that we need to face, but we do not face them alone.
– Sometimes our greatest act of faith is to stop striving and start trusting.
– Give the battle to God.
– Do what He tells you to do and leave the outcome in His hands.
– The battle may be bigger than you, but it is never bigger than your God.

4. THE LORD WILL BRING YOU THROUGH THE WILDERNESS
– Deuteronomy 1:31 speaks about what God did ‘in the wilderness.’
– The wilderness was not the final destination.
– It was something they had to go through.
– The wilderness represents seasons of testing, uncertainty, and dependence on God.
– There are wilderness seasons in all our lives.
– They can feel dry, lonely, and longer than we expected.
– Yet the wilderness is often the place where we discover the faithfulness of God in ways we could never have learnt in easier seasons.
– Israel discovered that when there was no food, God could provide manna.
– When there was no water, God could provide water.
– When there was no road to follow, God could provide guidance.
– When enemies came against them, God could protect them.
– Psalm 78:52 says: ‘But He brought His people out like a flock; He led them like sheep through the wilderness.’
– Even when the Israelites doubted and struggled with unbelief, God remained faithful.
– The wilderness teaches us that our lives do not depend on our own resources; they depend on God.
– Perhaps you are walking through a wilderness right now.
– Don’t mistake the wilderness for your destination.
– Keep trusting. Keep following. Keep believing.
– God, Who brought you into the wilderness knows how to bring you through it.

5. THE LORD WILL LIFT YOU UP AND CARRY YOU
– Deuteronomy 1:31 ‘The LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son…’
– God did not abandon Israel in a barren and dangerous land.
– He guided them, defended them, provided for them, and preserved them.
– Despite their failures, God remained faithful to the people He had redeemed.
– God was in it all the way.
– And today, God is in it all the way with you.
– He has not brought you this far to drop you, abandon you, or desert you.
– God is not distant or impersonal.
– There is never a day when you are without Him.
– The Good Shepherd carries His lambs, and that includes you.
– Just as a father lifts his child into his arms, God carries us through those places where our own strength is insufficient.
– Think back over your life for a moment.
– Can you remember situations you thought you would never survive?
– Yet here you are. The Lord carried you.
– There is also something wonderful that happens when we allow God to carry us: our perspective changes.
– A small child being carried on his father’s shoulders sees things from a completely different height.
– Our perspective can easily become clouded by fear, doubt, unbelief, and discouragement, but God sees the whole picture.
– His perspective includes purpose, destiny, hope, and the destination.
– Let Him lift you above the fear and help you to see from the perspective of faith.
– When you cannot carry yourself, let the Almighty carry you.

6. HE HAS A PLACE PREPARED FOR YOU
– Deuteronomy 1:31 ‘…all the way you went until you reached this place.’
– I love those words: ‘until you reached this place.’
– God was not carrying His people aimlessly.
– He was taking them somewhere.
– There was a destination and a purpose to their journey.
– For Israel, it was the Promised Land.
– God had made a promise, and despite the difficulties along the way, He remained faithful to His Word.
– Their arrival demonstrated that God had not forgotten what He had promised.
– There is also a ‘this place’ that God has designed and destined for you.
– There are things He still wants to do in your life.
– There are purposes He still wants to fulfil.
– There are places of spiritual growth, usefulness, peace, and rest into which He wants to lead you.
– Ultimately, there is also an eternal home prepared for everyone who belongs to Him.
– Jesus said in John 14:2-3: ‘I go to prepare a place for you… I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.’
– God does not carry us halfway.
– He carries us all the way.
– His arms are powerful enough to sustain you, secure enough to protect you, and loving enough for you to rest in completely.
– Let go of the need to control everything and place yourself confidently into His hands.
– He will carry you until you reach the place He has prepared for you.

Conclusion
– Perhaps today you feel strong and able to face what lies ahead.
– Or perhaps you feel weary and wonder how you will take another step.
– Either way, the promise remains the same: the Almighty will carry you.
– He will go before you. He will fight for you. He will bring you through the wilderness. He will lift you when you are weak. He will carry you when you cannot carry yourself, and He will faithfully bring you to the place He has prepared for you.
– When you look back, you will be able to say: ‘The Lord carried me all the way.’
– So don’t be afraid of the journey ahead.
– Underneath you are His everlasting arms.
– Rest in Him.
– Trust His strength.
– Allow yourself to be carried by the Almighty.

By Pastor Andrew W Roebert
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