There’s a story from some years ago about a wicked storm in the Midwest. People started scrambling for shelter and, in the midst of everyone running around, a man saw a boy carrying another boy on his back. The boy being carried looked to be nearly the size of the boy carrying him, but obviously younger. The man shouted, “That boy looks heavy. Do you need help?”

To which the boy doing the carrying replied, “Oh, he’s not heavy; he’s my brother.”

When the weight of a loved one is on your shoulders, somehow you don’t feel it like you probably should. You are willing to go that extra mile—or two, or twenty—out of love. Love gives us the strength to carry others when they need us.

That same love is found in Jesus. After all, we are made in His image. We reflect His emotional DNA. But Jesus doesn’t carry only one of us on His back. He carries all of us. He helps all of us. He is for all of us. Whenever we need Him. Wherever we need Him. He is there.

It’s true that sometimes life can get difficult and challenging, and it may be easy to think that you are just not going to make it on your own. It’s easy for all of us to think that at times. I’m not talking outside my own experience. We all need Jesus to carry us through the storms life blows our way. Which is why the name we are going to look at in this chapter is so important. Immanuel, the name we studied at the start of this book, told us that God is with us. And Jesus’ positions of authority we’ve seen thus far, such as King, Lamb, and Great High Priest, reveal how God relates to us. But this next name gives us a glimpse into just how much God is for us—for you. He is on your side. He wants you to succeed. And within Himself, He has all you need in order to do so.

We uncover the concept of this name in the pages of an Old Testament passage, which is just as applicable now as it was back when it was penned.

It would be almost 700 years before the incarnation of this prophetic name would come about. It would be a long haul of difficulties, trials, and dangers for the Israelites until deity showed up in diapers. This most unique being came to fulfill a number of critical positions through His life, but a few of these can seem more personal than others. They can feel more tender than others. They might even feel more needed than others. The name hinted at in Isaiah 9:6-7, a passage which foretells the birth of Jesus, is Sovereign.

A child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

According to the prophet Isaiah, the child that was to be born and the Son that was to be given would carry the weight of the government on His shoulders. Only one entity carries the weight of the government on its shoulders, and that entity is known as a sovereign. And while one day Jesus will physically return to the earth and set up His rule in Jerusalem in order to govern the whole world from Israel, He currently holds the position of spiritual ruler over His people. The government He now actively oversees is His church and the citizens of His kingdom. Not only does He oversee us, but He also carries us on His shoulders.

In other words, Jesus does the heavy lifting. As the Sovereign who governs the world, Jesus can bypass the red tape of bureaucracy. When we allow Him to govern us, He carries the weight of all that needs to be maneuvered and accomplished. He provides. He connects. He arranges. He prepares. He delivers.

Unfortunately, one of the reasons why we don’t always get to experience the blessings of this role of Jesus is that we do not allow Him to govern us or the church as a whole. But when we do, He creates a way for us to impact society in His name and by His strength for the glory of God and the good of others.

Tony Evans, The Power of Jesus’ Names (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2019).

We have just released a new Bible study on topic of The Power of Jesus' Names. This study supplements Tony Evans's book by the same name.

These lessons are available on Amazon, as well as a part of my Good Questions Have Groups Talking Subscription Service. Like Netflix for Bible Lessons, one low subscription gives you access to all our lessons--thousands of them. For a medium-sized church, lessons are as little as $10 per teacher per year.

Sessions include:

Part 1: Power in His Positions

   1. Immanuel
   2. Alpha and Omega
   3. King
   4. Lamb of God
   5. Great High Priest
   6. Sovereign

Part 2: Power in His Person

   7. I Am
   8. Lord
   9. Jesus
 10. Christ
 11. Son of God, Son of Man
 12. Word