Give me the Love that leads the way, Faith that nothing can dismay, Hope no disappointments tire, Passion that’ll burn like fire, Let me not sink to be a clod, Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God. ― Amy Carmichael
News alerts and alarms are the hallmarks of our hours. We’re struggling not to drown in discouragement, anxiety, sadness and grief. We’re in the grip of a deadly virus and a state of soul overwhelm. Our flesh is weak. Our hearts quake.
Our minds spiral into worse case scenarios. It’s hard to relax and get a grip when the world feels so out of control, isn’t it? How can we stay stable in this storm? Who can lift us up and keep us safe? Our God can and He will. Nothing is too difficult for Him.
God carries us when we sink low and cannot carry ourselves. He lifts us up when we stumble and fall. He infuses strength into failing bodies and hearts. Let us look to the Lord to lift us up and hold us close, like the loving Father He is, full of compassion and love.
“The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” ― Isaiah 58: 11 NIV
Being lifted up
Are you feeling crushed,
dear hurting soul?
Do you feel discouraged and sit
with your head bowed low?
Take heart, dear one, for hope
is here and help will come.
Your tears are not unseen
but are caught lovingly.
They are held in the heart
of a compassionate God
who cries, gives grace,
and feels and aches with us.
You, too, are being upheld
by his power and by his love
as he carries you
when you’ve had enough.
When you can’t go on
and feel far from strong,
fear not, my friend, because
this is not the end.
God will comfort you
as only he can, and cradle you
close until you can walk
with confidence again.
All who fall are not despised
but are souls to save, to hold,
heal and make strong once more
in our merciful Father’s eyes.
You will learn to breathe and rise
above your current woes and pain,
while you lean on the One who suffers
alongside us with our wounded feelings.
He opens his hands,
seeking to satisfy your needs,
every good desire of the human
heart is fully met by him.
So do not despair, my friend,
as you mourn a significant loss
or the pathway you knew before is gone
because God stands ready to lift you up.
© joylenton
“The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.” — Psalm 145:14-15 NIV
Friends, in these demanding days, let us acknowledge our weakness and frailty and ask God to carry us when we’re unable to go on without His help. He stands ever willing to lift us up, give us Hope, and fill us with His compassionate love.
Poetry Joy 
Joy, your post, poem, and words fitting for my post. Funny, we were on the same wave length. When we are most down or depressed, he is with us. Or he sends one of his angels or a sign, to remind us, everything will be okay.
“All who fall are not despised
but are souls to save, to hold,
heal and make strong once more
in our merciful Father’s eyes.”
Beautiful, just beautiful
I love those kind of God-incidences. It’s as if God is longing to get his message of love and grace across with greater urgency. We unite in thought and it gets spread further abroad. And I’m doing a happy dance to have blessed you with those words! 😊💙
That is exactly it. God-incidences.
Love that
It’s my favourite word for such occurrences. So apt, I think. Glad you agree… 😉
Yes it is
😊
Dear Joy,
Oh, your words and thoughts are so lovely and encouraging. This stanza is touching me so much today:
“Take heart, dear one, for hope
is here and help will come.
Your tears are not unseen
but are caught lovingly.”
Especially as I listen to the song that you shared–it was a song that was popular when I was going through a very long stretch of waiting for God to bring fullness to something that felt so hopeless to me and to my family. He reminded me that your words were so true for me then, as I truly felt Him catching lovingly each tear that was shed. And He is catching the tears that fall today, as He is still my strength beyond all others. Thank you for this much-needed reminder, my dear friend. May you feel His warm arms comforting you today also. You are a blessing! Love & Hugs to you! xoxo
Dear Bettie, I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring some encouragement to your soul, and so pleased the stanza and song touched you as well. How we need God’s hope to lift us up as we experience such dark and dismal happenings! Tears are being freely shed as we all struggle with the effects of this deadly virus. It’s hitting closer to home for us as Phil’s cousin died from it a few days ago. He lived in London. God’s love and His warm arms of comfort and compassion are sorely needed for the many who are in mourning. May we not forget how God is our our “strength beyond all others” and our hope beyond the life we know now. Blessings, love and hugs to you, dear friend! xoxo 💜
Oh Dear Joy,
I am so sorry to hear about your loss of Phil’s cousin! What a harsh blow in the midst of these weighty days. You are both in my prayers today so much. May you feel the love of Jesus lifting you, and the words of your poem becoming even more personal and real. Love you my dear friend. xoxo
Dear Bettie, yes it was rather a shock to hear the news even though they were not particularly close. He was closer in age to Phil’s elder brother and known better by him. But a loss like this still affects all the relatives. I must admit we’re struggling more today and I’m finding my own words soothing as I reread them. As you say, they’ve become “even more personal and real” when our spirits sag lower than before. Love you too, my dear caring and compassionate friend. xoxo
Joy I always leave your poems both uplifted and very impressed with your writing. Same with your book.
Oh Kurt, what lovely words of encouragement! Thank you so much for honouring God’s gift in me. Bless you, my friend. 😊
Thank you for such a beautifully comforting poem, Joy. I’m so sorry for the loss of Phil’s cousin. It hits harder when it hits closer to home. Love and blessings of strength and peace in your grief and in this crisis!
Trudy, we could all use a bit of comforting, couldn’t we? So many are hurting and grieving in the world right now. We’ve also lost a dear soul from our church, though unrelated to the coronavirus and she was in her late 90s, but even so it’s sad as I knew her pretty well. They recorded her service so we could see it and join in to some extent. Her family were not fully present, of course, because there would have been way too many gathering together for that.
One flip sided to everyone being unable to meet up as usual has been our ability to join in with our home church services online. As we’ve not been able to attend services for years, it’s a joy to watch and be a part of it again and we can see it at our convenience. Thank you for your kind thoughts and lovely blessing. They’re just what we need. May you also be blessed with health and strength and the lasting peace that only God can give us. Love and hugs to you, dear friend! xo 💜