Isaiah 53:4:  “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”

Even look at a Scripture verse that have heard all your life, memorized it, sang it as it was put to music, heard it preached and then one day you look at it and say: “Is that really in the Bible?”

It is at that time that you want to take a closer look at this promise.  Clearly, the literal interpretation is that it is referring to Jesus who has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.  That sounds really good, but when you stop to think about it, what does that actually mean?   Does it mean he feels sorry for us, or pities us?  Does it mean that he actually removes it from us?

First, what is grief and what is sorrow and does bearing and carry mean the same thing?   The word grief is chalah. This means both physical sickness and pain as well as mental anguish.  He bears this.   The Hebrew used here for borne is nasa’ which has the idea of being made high or exalted.  It also can be used to express the idea of bearing or to carry away.  However,  what about that idea of lifting up or exalting.  The Apostle Paul talks about sharing the suffering of Jesus.

There are many Christians today who have lost or are losing jobs that they know God has given them.  Many more Christians are losing the ministry that God has given to them, spouses that God gave them through both death and divorce.  It is one thing to suffer sickness or grief as a result of selfish decisions you make, but what about when you made the right decision and did your very best to do the right thing and you end up getting blasted through no fault of your own?   Perhaps this passage is also addressing this by saying that God will exalt your suffering, lift it up or  honor it, just as He honored Job for enduring the suffering He went through which was the result of no fault of his own.

Then we learn that he carries our sorrows.  The word carry here is saval which means to carry, it is also the same word use for a porter or one who carriers a heavy load for another person.   The baggage does not belong to the porter,  another person still owns it, but the porter bears it’s weight.  The word sorrow is k’av which is a deep inner pain or sorrow or burden.

Do you have a deep sorrow or burden that you carry?   Jesus is our celestial porter, who will carry that baggage for us.  That is all well and good, but you know I have a terrible time giving it over to God.  I think I do at times, but then I find myself fretting over the issue all over again.   How do we let God pick up our burden?  The word for carry is spelled Samek, Beth, and Lamed.  This combination of letters suggest that through prayer you enter into the shelter of God’s heart. It is in knowing and understanding God’s heart, the real love He has for you, the concern and the longing for you that allows you to shift your burden to Him.  Like Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress, you take that heavy burden off your back and you lay it at the cross. Then you enter that narrow gate which brings you into the heart of God and you find rest.

Once you enter God’s heart, then whatever happens really does not matter, because it is all part of God’s plan.  In God’s heart you can see His lovingkindness and although you may not understand his reasoning behind the affliction, you are resting in that shelter of His heart.  Dwelling in the heart of God is to be in constant prayer even if you are not muttering words to God or have your hands folded.  You can be busy doing you daily task but if you are in the heart of God, you are in prayer.  I wonder if that is what Paul meant when he said: “Pray without ceasing.”