“Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah” (Psalm 68:19 ESV).
David praised the Lord as the God who “daily bears us up.” The Hebrew carries the idea of bearing, carrying, or taking up a burden. David had known many burdens: enemies, disappointment, grief, and responsibility. Yet he testified that God had not abandoned him beneath those burdens. Day after day, God sustained him.
This verse brings to mind the well-known poem Footprints in the Sand, often attributed to Mary Stevenson. In the poem, a believer looks back over the journey of life and notices that during the hardest seasons there was only one set of footprints. Assuming that God had left him to face those trials alone, the believer asks why. The answer is that during those darkest moments, the Lord had been carrying him.
That is very close to the comfort of Psalm 68:19. We bless God because the God who saves us is also the God who carries us, not merely once, but day after day. David did not say that God removed every burden. He said that God bore him up beneath them.
The verse ends, “God is our salvation.” The One who carries us through today’s trouble is also the One who will finally deliver us. In Christ, we see this most clearly. Jesus carried our greatest burden when He bore our sins on the cross, rose from the dead, and secured our eternal salvation.
Every day has its burdens, but every day has its burden-bearing God. We do not have to face today’s weight in our own strength. We can entrust our fears, responsibilities, griefs, and uncertainties to the Lord who carries us.
When the road becomes too hard for us to walk, we can remember that our Savior is not merely walking beside us. Sometimes He is the One bearing us up.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for carrying us day by day. Help us trust You with every burden and rest in the salvation You have given us in Christ. When we are weak, remind us that Your strength is more than enough. In Jesus’ name, amen.