Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders (Deuteronomy 33:13).

That’s you!

Yeah, you.  I know, right?

OK, in that specific verse, Moses is talking to the tribe of Benjamin, but make no mistake–you are the Beloved of the Lord.

If you do a search for all the times and ways the Bible tells us of God’s love for us, you’ll be at it all day.  I mean, you’ve got Psalm 26:3, and Romans 5:8, and the whole Song of Songs…

Not a bad way to spend the day, now that I think about it.

But, since you’ve got work and school and whatnot to attend to, let me just address the above passage.

You are his Beloved, so he will protect you.

You can breathe.  He’s got you.

Do you remember riding on your Daddy’s shoulders when you were little?  It was scary, and thrilling, and powerful.  The world teetered and tottered and swooped and spun…but you knew you were safe.  You could not fall from the shoulders of your Daddy.

It’s like that.

Am I saying that, as the Beloved, nothing bad will ever happen to you?

No.  I wish I could, but it doesn’t work that way. Things are going to happen in life, and some of them will stink.  But God will carry you through them.

You cannot fall from the shoulders of your Daddy.

As I write this, my friend John is in a hospital bed.  It most definitely stinks.  We don’t know what the next days will bring, but we know Who will bring it.  And we know that, whatever the outcome, John is safe, because he is Beloved.

As we are Beloved.

As you are Beloved.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.