He Carried Them

This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson says this: “Isaiah 58–66 has multiple references to the atoning mission of Jesus Christ. Look for them as you study. In particular, note the titles and words used to describe the Savior.” One of those passages is this one: “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak” (Isaiah 59:16-17). The scripture help for this verse gives this explanation: “Isaiah 59 begins with a description of the wickedness among the people of Judah. One of their sins was their unjust treatment of those who sought to live righteously. In verse 16, the Lord declared that because no one had stepped in to offer assistance to the righteous, He Himself would become their intercessor. An intercessor is someone who intervenes to help settle differences between people or groups. In these verses, the Lord declared that His intercession would involve taking action against those who had oppressed others.” This is the only place in the scriptures that the word intercessor is used, but employed here it is a powerful reminder of the role the Savior plays, especially in interceding on our behalf when we sin. Elder McConkie said, “[Jesus Christ] came into the world to ransom men from the temporal and spiritual death brought upon them by the fall of Adam. He came to satisfy the demands of divine justice and to bring mercy to the penitent. He came as a Mediator, as an Intercessor, to plead the cause of all those who believe in him.” We can also trust that the Savior will intercede for us when we simply struggle and need help. He does not only intercede to help satisfy the demands of justice when we sin, but through His intervention He will succor us in all of our trials.

            Another passage in these chapters in Isaiah that helps teach us about the mission of Jesus Christ is this one: “I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old” (Isaiah 63:7-9). Here the focus to me seems to be not so much on how He redeems us from sin but how He helps us in our struggles. We can trust in His lovingkindness and goodness and mercy. He was afflicted with our afflictions—not just our sins—and from that He shows love and pity, redeeming us, baring us up, and even carrying us. That reminds me of the popular Christian poem Footprints in the Sand which describes a person seeing in a dream the events of their life associated with footprints in the sand. Noticing the hardest times with only one set of footprints, the person said, 

You promised me Lord,

that if I followed you,

you would walk with me always.

But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life

there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me? 

The Lord replied, “The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand, is when I carried you.” If we are looking for scriptural justification for this idea, Isaiah 63:9 would be one such passage. The Lord has declared that He “bare them, and carried them all the days of old,” and perhaps He figuratively does the same for each of us in our challenges.

            The Lord declared this in another passage of Isaiah: “Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you” (Isaiah 46:3-4). Again here the Lord declared that He will carry us. He will help deliver us, whether we are a baby or have gray hairs or anything in between, He promises that He will deliver us and help us and bear us up. He is the Intercessor and Deliverer, and as we hearken to His voice, He will carry us through our afflictions.