The Everlasting Arms

“The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”—Deuteronomy 33:27

Are you weary? Tired? Has life got you down? Do you feel as if you just want to give up? Don’t, beloved. Don’t. God is there for you. He can uphold you even when you want to give up or give in.

When Moses was saying his farewell to the Israelites after his many years as their leader, his words were, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” What did he mean? He wanted them to understand that God Himself is their dwelling place. He is the one who would uphold them. He is the one in whom they will find safety, even when they want to quit. Even when they wanted to say, “No more, I’ve had enough.” He would be there to uphold them.

Our God is God. There is no other. He is the eternal God without beginning and without end. He is infinitely higher than us, because He is the eternal, self-existent God. No one made Him. No one commands Him. He alone is God. But He is not a God who is far away. He remains near and intimately connected to His people. A God who “knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust”—Psalm 103:14. He is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love”—Psalm 103:8. He knows our situation—it has not escaped Him. He offers Himself to uphold us when trouble comes. He upholds us by His everlasting arms—which are eternal and unshakeable. If God has you in His hands, then there is nothing that will come your way that you cannot handle.

There is a hymn entitled, Leaning On The Everlasting Arms, written by Elisha Hoffman and Anthony Showalter (1887). Showalter wrote the music and refrain after hearing about two friends whose wives had died, and then asked Hoffman to finish it, which he did. The song goes like this,

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain:
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Are you leaning on the everlasting arms, beloved? Do you have blessed peace because the Lord is so near? He will uphold you by His marvelous everlasting arms and will bear you up in whatever trial you are facing. Run to Him, beloved! Remember that He is “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”—Psalm 46:1. He will uphold you! Amen.