GO! And… Live Lifted by the God Who Daily Bears You - Psalm 68:19
INTRODUCTION — “What Are You Carrying Today?”
If I could see your heart the way God sees it, I wonder what I’d find you carrying today.
A heavy worry?
A hidden fear?
A hurt you’ve never spoken aloud?
A responsibility that feels beyond your strength?
Most people don’t break because they’re weak.
Most people break because they’ve been strong for far too long.
Into that reality, Psalm 68:19 speaks a truth so powerful it shakes the dust off our weary souls.
Psalm 68:19 (NLT): “Praise the Lord; praise God our saviour! For each day he carries us in his arms.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
And this is the anchor for your life.
Psalm 68 is a victory psalm of David. A celebration of God’s triumph, God’s salvation, God’s faithful care for His people.
It portrays God leading His people out of Egypt, through the wilderness, into triumph — a God who never abandons, never forgets, never grows weary.
The phrase “He carries us in his arms” uses the Hebrew verb ?????? — nasa'.
It means:
to lift
to carry a burden
to bear away guilt
to sustain continually
In other words: God doesn’t simply help us with our burdens — He lifts us, He sustains us, and He removes the crushing weight we could never carry on our own.
This is not a one-time rescue.
David says “each day.”
Daily.
Constantly.
Faithfully.
This is Gospel language in the Old Testament.
Because only one Person ultimately carries us, bears our sin, lifts our burden, sustains our life — His name is Jesus.
1 — “GOD DAILY CARRIES WHAT WE CANNOT CARRY”
Isaiah 46:3–4 (NLT): “I have cared for you since you were born… I will be your God throughout your lifetime… I will carry you along and save you.”
Here the Hebrew again uses nasa' — “I will carry.”
God doesn’t outsource the hard work of carrying you.
He doesn’t subcontract your comfort.
He carries you Himself.
When you wake up anxious — He carries you.
When you feel forgotten — He carries you.
When your strength runs out — His doesn’t.
Max Lucado: “God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.”
Lucado reminds us that the God who carries us isn’t simply comforting us — He is transforming us. He lifts us not only out of trouble but toward Christlikeness.
The Father Who Carried His Son
In the 1992 Olympics, Derek Redmond fell with a torn hamstring.
He tried to finish but collapsed in agony.
Suddenly, his father burst through security, ran onto the track, lifted him, and carried him to the finish line.
That is Psalm 68:19.
God running to you.
God lifting you.
God carrying you when you cannot carry yourself.
2 — “JESUS CARRIES OUR SIN — THE GREATEST BURDEN OF ALL”
Psalm 68 points forward to the true burden-bearer: Christ.
Isaiah 53:4–6 (NLT): “Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down… And the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.”
The Hebrew again uses nasa' — “He carried.”
The same word.
The same action.
The same God.
In Psalm 68 He carries our daily burdens.
In Isaiah 53 He carries our eternal burden — our sin.
Sin is not just bad behaviour.
It is a crushing weight.
A spiritual cancer.
An eternal death sentence.
And Jesus took it upon Himself.
On the cross, He didn’t merely observe your sins — He carried them.
John Piper: “The Gospel is the good news that God himself has come to rescue us from the wrath of God.”
Piper says what few dare to say — it is God saving us from God. Jesus carries us from judgement into mercy by carrying our sin upon Himself at the cross.
If Jesus carried the heaviest burden — your sin — why would He not carry the lesser burdens today?
3 — “GOD CARRIES US SO THAT WE MAY CARRY HIS LIGHT TO THE WORLD”
The Gospel lifts us, but it also sends us.
Matthew 11:28–30 (NLT): “Come to me… and I will give you rest… For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Once Jesus takes our crushing burden of sin, He gives us a new calling — a light burden, empowered by His Spirit.
The Greek word for “burden” here is f??t??? — phortion.
It means: a task, a calling, a load designed to fit a person exactly.
Jesus never burdens you with anything He will not help you carry.
Tim Keller: “God will only give you what you would have asked for if you knew everything He knows.”
Keller reminds us that the burdens God allows are never accidental. They are purposeful, permitted by a God who carries us as He shapes us.
Let God carry your fear — and carry His hope to others.
Let God carry your shame — and carry His grace into broken places.
Let God carry your worry — and carry His peace into your workplace, your home, your church.
The Bridge That Held When Everything Fell
A missionary once described a raging storm in Central Africa.
Buildings collapsed.
Trees fell.
Floodwaters swept through the village.
But a simple wooden footbridge — old, weathered, seemingly fragile — held firm, because its foundation was anchored deep into solid rock.
When the storm passed, the villagers said, “The bridge carried us.”
Church — your foundation is Christ.
The storms may roar, but the One who carries you is unshakeable.
THE GOSPEL PRESENTATION — JESUS, THE GREAT BURDEN-BEARER
Let me say this clearly, lovingly, urgently:
Christ did not come to help you carry your sin.
Christ came to remove it.
On the cross:
He carried your sin.
He bore your guilt.
He suffered your judgement.
He died your death.
He rose to give you His life.
He was buried, and on the third day He rose again — carrying not the weight of your sin, but the victory over it.
Friend, you cannot carry yourself into Heaven.
You cannot carry your own righteousness.
You cannot carry your own salvation.
But Jesus can — and Jesus will.
CALL TO ACTION — “LET GOD CARRY YOU TODAY”
You do not honour God by pretending to be strong.
You honour God by admitting your weakness and trusting His strength.
For believers:
Lay down the burden of self-reliance.
Lay down the burden of worry.
Lay down the burden of trying to fix everything.
Surrender the weight and receive the daily carrying of your Saviour.
For those not yet saved:
You were not created to carry the weight of your sin.
You were created to be carried by Jesus.
INVITATION TO SALVATION:
If today you feel the weight of your sin, the heaviness in your soul, the ache in your heart,
Jesus says to you, “Come to Me.”
Pray with me in your heart:
“Lord Jesus, I cannot carry myself.
I confess I am a sinner.
I believe You died for me, were buried, and rose again.
I turn from my sin and trust You alone as my Lord and Saviour.
Carry me, save me, and make me Yours. Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer in faith, Jesus Christ has lifted you out of death and into life.
BENEDICTION / CLOSING EXHORTATION:
May the Lord who carries your burdens daily
lift your head,
strengthen your heart,
sustain your soul,
and fill your life with His peace.
Go in the strength of the One who carries you —
and carry His hope into the world.
Amen.
