Resting on Dad's shoulders

The Bible never ceases to amaze me with its ability to surprise.  Two or three months ago, I came across a website called 365 Promises.  There is the opportunity through the website to sign up for daily e-mails, each of which contain an image and a promise from the Bible (as the website title suggests, there is a promise for each day of the year, though I’m not sure what happens in leap years!)  I have been blessed and encouraged by receiving the daily email promises.

Usually the promise verses are quite familiar to me.  Although there have been a few times during my life when I have read through the Bible, this morning I received a verse with words which I can’t ever remember reading!  This verse from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy (33:12) conjured up such a powerful image in my mind:

Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him,
    for he shields him all day long,
    and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.

When I was a young child I made a trip with my parents into Hull city centre.  To a young boy who lived in a small village, it felt a bit like being in the land of the giants; the streets were crowded with grown-ups, and there was a noise and bustle which I wasn’t used to.  At the same time, the shop windows and other sights held a great attraction; and my attention was drawn by all the new sights and sounds.  I began to enjoy the experience - until something dreadful happened.

I can’t remember how it happened, but there came a point when I realised to my horror that I had become separated from my parents!  I knew that I was completely lost, with no idea how to locate my parents, and with no chance of finding my way home again.  I felt desperate, lonely and afraid.

I’m not sure how long I was in such a state of panic; probably not too long, although it felt like an age.  It didn’t take long for my parents to realise that I wasn’t with them, and they very quickly managed to locate me.  Waves of relief flowed through my body when they reappeared.  I’m pretty sure that from that moment on I clung to my parents until we arrived back home!  Alone, I had felt a great sense of vulnerability; with them, I knew I was safe.

This memory has surfaced through my meditating on the words from Deuteronomy.  They speak of the wonderful truth that in an often frightening world, we can find security in God, our ‘shield’.  I particularly love the phrase, ‘the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.’  What an amazing image of the intimacy of relationship which we can have with God!  What little child doesn’t love to rest between the shoulders of their mum or dad?  Isn’t it astounding that God wants to draw us into that kind of relationship with him?