When Our Hearts Melt

It was a beautiful November afternoon. As I drove down a winding back road, I took in the shades of color in the trees, the clear blue of the sky, and the brilliant white of the clouds – as much as I could while still trying to be a responsible driver. I was on my way back from Bible study to pick up my daughter from school when I got the news that made my heart melt.

My husband called to say that his bosses had scheduled a meeting the next day, and all of the evidence led us to believe that he would be let go at that meeting. He just had a feeling about it, and after our phone conversation, I agreed. 

Turns out, we were right. The company had lost its biggest client and needed to downsize in order to stay afloat. A number of others were let go as well. It’s an age-old problem, and one we understood as not personal, just business. Nevertheless, the concept of not having a job is a daunting one.

I’m sure you can recall the last time you felt your heart melt. It may not have been a job loss, but the dissolution of a marriage or any point in the trenches of parenting or the breaking of a friendship or a bad health scare or the loss of a loved one. It could be something you’re enduring even now and don’t see any hope of ever being able to view it in hindsight. This battle, it seems, may never be over. The struggle may never leave you.

We can take great comfort from Deuteronomy 1. Let me set the stage for you. Moses is getting on in age and knows his time is relatively short. So Moses is addressing the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land. Now, these Israelites are the descendants of those who personally experienced the Exodus and the parting of the Red Sea and the giving of the law. 

They were not there themselves, so Moses wants to remind them of the rich history of that relationship between Israel and God. Their history with God is so important for them to understand before they move forward into this land God has promised them. This is where we jump in, at the beginning here when Moses is explaining to them about the negative report 10 of the 12 men brought back after exploring the Promised Land.

In verse 28, Moses reminds them how their forefathers cried out:  Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.” 

Then I said to you, “Do not be in dread or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place. 

Yet in spite of this word you did not believe in the Lord your God, who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go (1:28-33).

One of my favorite things in the book of Exodus – and I have several favorite things, but one of my favorites – is how God took such good care of His people. They have been oppressed in Egypt and have been through such hardship, and once He rescues them and brings them out of Egypt, where do they find themselves?

In the wilderness. And they complain. A lot. At least back in Egypt, they had some of the comforts of home. They lived as slaves there, honestly, but what they remember once they are in the desert is that at least they had food back in Egypt. At least they knew what to expect from day to day. 

So I love what we read in Exodus 13:21-22:  And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from the people.

The pillar of cloud would have protected them from the sun during the day, and the pillar of fire would have warmed them and given light to their nights. So God provided these pillars to protect them, but He also used these pillars to guide the Israelites along the way. 

He thought of everything they needed. He didn’t plan to lead them out from slavery, only to bring them into the desert to die. No, He planned to take care of them all the way. To carry them all the way, not part of the way. All the way. 

Years ago, when all of the kids were really young, my family vacationed together at the beach. And we could tell a storm was brewing, and so we began frantically grabbing sandy shovels and buckets, collapsing our beach chairs and throwing our coolers and snacks into our cars. 

Well, we had five boys and one girl among us, and those little bodies had gotten awfully sandy, as only children can manage. And I remember watching my brothers in law grab one little boy at a time, along with a clean towel, and carry him down to the ocean, wash him off, wrap him in the towel, carry him back to the car, and set him safely inside the car before dashing off to do the same for the other children.

And the kids were having a blast. Being carried down to the ocean, dunked, wrapped in a towel, and then carried back was like a fun game to them. Their dads were working hard and moving quickly in order to get off of the beach before the storm hit; but to the kids, this was just a fun game. They knew they were safe because they were in their fathers’ hands.

But I think of this when I read Deuteronomy 1:31 about how God carried His people, the Israelites. He carried them as a man carries his son. (Can you imagine a sweeter picture than this? A man carrying his son?) And He carried them all the way. Not part of the way. He had no intention of dropping them halfway and then leaving them in the desert to fend for themselves. He had plans for them. 

And further than that, He showed them where to go. Not only did He protect them, not only did He provide for them, but He also guided them. He also showed them where to go and what to do. The reason we can draw such strength from these Scriptures is that God is also our God.

Through our belief in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, you and I can become His children. Which means that He is our Father. Which also means that, like my sweet little nephews, we can rest – even in the midst of a storm – because we know we are in our Father’s arms. Even when our hearts melt within us, we can rest because we know that He is carrying us. And He will not drop us. He will carry us all the way.