I Am — I Will

Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you. Isaiah 46:4 NKJV.

This is a great word!

While away recently having a holiday, I decided to mix up my Bible reading. I use two types of Bible reading; a) bulk reading, and b) bit reading.

Bulk reading is where you have a reading plan (as I do) of say two or three chapters every day, or whatever it takes to read the Bible in a year. This is very good and necessary for our spiritual growth. Bit reading is when you read a few words, even one or two verses and focus on them for the whole time. This too is very good. It is like specialised input.

My bit reading one day brought me to our text for this Brief Word. What a great promise!

Here’s a few things I discovered about these few words.

1. Even. 

One of my favourite books is a Thesaurus. I often look up the meaning of words. This is what I discovered about the word, even.

Even – Certainly, indeed, definitely, truly, surely, really, in fact, in truth, in reality, positively, verily, assuredly, yea, decidedly, doubtless, undoubtedly, unquestionably, undeniably, indisputably, incontestably, incontrovertibly. (www.merriam-webster.com).

Wow! That’s amazing. Doesn’t it add weight to the promise that follows?

2. To your old age.

As long as that, right up to that part of your life, right to that part when you and I are old, and have lived and served and given, and seen so much; well even then, at that point, He is faithful. Yes God’s promises extend from even before we were born right up to and beyond this part of our life.

To your old age. That’s the promise, and that’s the assurance God gives that He will be with me and keep me right up to and past that stage of my life. It’s a personal promise of His presence.

I am going to live long! Until I am old. (But not grumpy). It’s personal. It’s a promise from God. It’s a special word, it is God’s word. For you too. Thank You Lord.

3. And even to gray hairs.

Here’s another reference to what He will do. It’s like He is reiterating, reinforcing, refreshing, restating the promise of what He will do.

Old age and gray hairs. That stage of life, when the body has raised a family, lived and worked and served, and worshipped and is now near the end of its time of hosting the spirit and soul on the earth.

Even then (hey remember what that little word even means?), God will be faithful.

4. I am He.

Notice what He says. I am He.

He is reiterating His identity. And He does so before He assures us of His activity. I am always comes before I will. A proper understanding of the great I am, is essential to a trust that rests in who God is, so that His I wills can be fulfilled in our life.God is God, He is the Lord, the Master of the Universe. He is Jehovah, El Shaddai, Supreme and Lord, and God of all. He is King, Ruler, and Sovereign of all of His creation. We must have a view, a perspective, a vision of God like this I believe, before we look at and concentrate on the I will of His promises.

We hear a lot about His I wills (and it seems what we gotta do), but we don’t hear much about His I Am’s.

What is God like to you? How would you describe Him? How would you explain Him?

One day I tried to write down some aspects of who He is, but it is impossible to fully describe Him. Nevertheless, here’s a short list I wrote.

1. He is unsurpassed in glory,
2. He is unmatched in majesty,
3. He is unequalled in power,
4. He is unrelenting in His grace,
5. He is unshakeable in His kingdom,
6. He is unparalleled in righteousness,
7. He is unfailing in His love,
8. He is unmistakeable when you encounter Him.
9. He is unrivalled in His authority.
10. He is unwilling that any should perish.

But this is a fraction of who God is.

5. I will.

Now we have some details about what exactly God will do.

Now this is important.

I grew up on a farm, and my father would build water holes, or dams (by getting the bulldozer to dig it out). They became water traps, or reservoirs to hold water for the dry seasons.

Resources come from a reservoir, but if we can’t see, or don’t believe, or can’t appreciate the size of the reservoir, we may not believe the resources we need will be provided.

If our vision, our perception, our concept of the reservoir – God, is a small one, then, that will be the way our resources come – small.

But when we see God as God, a reservoir so huge that the Universe cannot contain Him, then we are on the way to experiencing the release of His resources from that massive master reservoir.

The size of our Vision of the Reservoir, is connected to the size of our Provision, the Resources.

The reservoir of course is God.

We don’t see Him just as a reservoir big enough to meet our needs, He is not just our need-meet-er. He is God, He is Lord, He is Master, Saviour, He is God! It’s from that vastness, that our needs are met. It’s from the vast and unfathomable lake of Who God Is! That’s the source. That’s the eternal spring of life and of all we will ever need.

Wow! But wait, there’s more.

Our text goes on to say.

1. I will carry you — He bears the weight of our cares and everything
2. Even I will carry — He reassures us He has the strength
3. I have made — He is our Creator therefore He is superior
4. I will bear — He is big, vast and large enough to bear us
5. And will deliver you — He is able to take us from A to B

Yes He will. As a parent, we get tired carrying a toddler after a while, but not God. Right up to and beyond that part when we’re old and gray haired.

He was with us, He is with us, He will be with us.

Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you. Isaiah 46:4 NKJV.