- Take up
Psalm 27: 10
When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take me up.
The unconditional promise of being taken up by the Lord means that the Lord himself will support, provide, care for, love and nurture me; it means that He will never, no never, forsake me. The greatest fear children have is the fear of abandonment.
It is expected that other supports, props, nurturers and caretakers we need during our temporal lives on earth will eventually leave us, disappoint us, or be unable to help. Even our own parents who have been there and cared for us all our life long will probably die before we do, if they have not willingly or unwillingly neglected us during their lifetime. Eventually and ultimately, every one of us humans on earth will be forsaken; since no one lives forever, the ones we are counting on will abandon us at some time or another. We will feel alone and weakened.
But the Eternal God comes in and promises He will take me up. I can never be, nor be afraid of being, abandoned, forsaken, left alone, uncared for or unloved. If it ever happens that I have no one to be there for me the Lord will take me up. He will take me up in His arms to love and nurture and comfort me and make me feel safe.
We can extend and expand the metaphor to include every bad thing that could possibly happen to me: no matter what happens, no matter how catastrophic, my Lord and my God will be there for me; I will be taken up and cared for. Every child, adult, and elderly person can take this promise to heart: you will never be alone. This promise is meant to carry us through all the days of our lives until we see Him face to face.
Jesus says: “Don’t worry; I’ll be there; I will be with you always, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”