There is something that the Lord Jesus loves to do whenever He gets the opportunity: that is--to raise people up who are bowed down.
In Luke 1:46-48 we read that the Virgin Mary in her Magnificat said that "my soul doth magnify the Lord, ... for He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden." That "low estate" is an honorable place to be in because the Lord notices you there and He will do something about it to raise you up.
No matter who you are, if you confess to Him your "low estate," He will raise you up. That's what His business is--raising people up, not putting them down. He does not humiliate us, although He loves a proud person so much that He may permit that proud person to be laid low for a time. Sometimes a hospital bed is the best place for a person to find himself in; gives him an opportunity to think and to pray.
"The Lord raises up those that are bowed down" (Psalm 145:14).
He takes note of those who end up in the most awful places imaginable: He "raiseth up the poor out of the dust heap, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill" (113:7). The fact that you have been in the "dunghill" does not mean that the Lord considers you to be "unclean" and will avoid you; no, there is that precious promise that even if we end up in that awful place, the Lord will not abhor us and avoid us.
He shows no respect of persons: for "He raiseth up all those that be bowed down." Even when you realize that you should be "brought low" the Lord does not mark you there forever; His idea is constantly how can He raise you up?
Everyone who inherits eternal life in Christ will realize that he is "raised up" from the lowest depths in order to be there with God's people forever. "Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged" (Isa. 51:1). Isaiah records these encouraging words in the context of God's people enjoying life in the wonderful earth made new: they will never forget whence they have been hewed and "digged." Not one will strut about boasting of how he or she accepted the "offer" the Lord made; we will all rejoice in being the recipients of a gift GIVEN, pure and simple.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
