“Footprints in the Sand”

Photo by Suzi Rosenberg

Day 27

I love the poem “Footprints in the Sand”.  It reminds me that Jesus not only walks with me when I need Him but at times He even carries me.  I can depend completely on Him when I feel inadequate.

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?”
The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you.”
By Mary Stevenson
We all need someone to be there for us in difficult times.

I woke up to the sound of the phone ringing.  I looked at my alarm clock. Three a.m.

I heard my dad talking on the phone in serious tones. He was asking about my older brother, Ervan.  When I heard him ask, “Is he going to live?” I knew something terrible had happened to my brother.

For the next few months most of my parent’s time was given to visiting my sick brother in the hospital. When he was finally well enough to come home they were busy taking care of him. They had to prepare special meals for him, and feed him, and change his dressings among other things. In time he healed and became independent again.

While my brother was sick he depended on my parents. My parents never neglected the rest of us but like a shepherd caring for a lame lamb until he is healed they had to give him a lot of extra care. During this time I’m sure my brother developed a very close relationship with my mom and dad because they spent so much time together.

There are times in our lives too that as His child God has to carry us.  We depend on him completely.  Sometimes it’s as we go through a difficult time in our life, like a divorce or an illness, or a financial crisis.  When situations are out of our control and we feel lost He comes and walks the dark hills reaching His hands out to us and carries us back to that safe place close to Him.  He cares for us as we depend completely on Him.

A shepherd has to leave his other sheep as he looks for the lost or hurt lamb, and a parent is forced to neglect the healthy child temporarily because of  their limitations. Unlike the shepherd and our parents, God isn’t limited.  He is with us 100% of the time while He is with the extra needy 100% of the time.  He never leaves us or forsakes us.
“If a man has a hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do?  Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others and go into the hills to search for the lost one?”  Matthew 18:12 [The Living Bible]

“God has said, ‘I will never, never fail you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5 [The Living Bible]
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I want to walk with you spiritually this year, inviting you to read the Bible through from cover to cover; from Genesis 1 all the way to Revelation 22:21.  If that sounds too difficult for you and your kids, you can join in again after you have taken a break or join us for the days you’re up to it.  We will start on Sunday, January 18th and finish Saturday, January 16, 2010.  I promise that you will understand the Bible in a much deeper way if you read it through from cover to cover in a year’s time.

Accept my challenge to read the Bible through in one year chronologically, including the Old and the New Testament.

Day 27 Today read:
Exodus 4:1-5:21
Matthew 18:1-20
Psalm 22:19-31
Proverbs 5:15-21

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Desiring God

“Anyone who wants to come to God must believe that there is a God and that He rewards those who sincerely look for Him.”  Hebrews 11:6 The Living Bible

A few months ago I found myself backing away from God.  It wasn’t that I didn’t love Him and didn’t want to follow Him.  It was because a few doubts arose in my mind.  I wondered if I really worshipped the true God of the Bible or did I serve my own version of God; making God who I wanted Him to be to do my bidding.

I think we all sometimes conjure up faulty thoughts about God.  Our misconceptions of God result from our misunderstanding of who God is. Perfectionists in our lives expect our lives to be perfect and judge us when we make a mistake or fail.  So we think God must criticize us too instead of understand and forgive us and grow us.  We pray for healing but we don’t get better so we conclude we didn’t pray hard enough or we didn’t have enough faith.  The issue is to maintain our faith in God’s goodness. Another faulty thought we often carry around is that if God blesses our neighbor with the exact blessing we have been praying for but He doesn’t bless us then God must not like us very much.  But He has a different plan for each one of us, all of them good.

I think of the two disciples, Peter and John.  Jesus chose Peter to build His church.  Peter was persecuted and finally crucified.  John is called Jesus’ disciple that He loved.  He was exiled to the Island of Patmos where God gave him the revelation of the end times.  John is the only disciple that died a natural death.  Did God favor John more that Peter?  No; He only had a different agenda for each one.

Our questioning is a good thing.  It leads to a deeper understanding of who God is.  In His patience God didn’t leave me waiting on the sidelines wondering where He was in my life but He came Himself and led me out of my doubts.  God accepts us just where we are with Him and then grows us deeper in our relationship with Him.

Bible Truths to Share with Your Kids:

Do you know that God is just waiting to be your best friend?  He wants you to desire Him. He wants you to think about Him and talk to Him about everything in your life.  He wants you to adore Him; to make Him your hero.

That doesn’t mean you go around all day with your head in the clouds ignoring everyone and pretending to be a supernatural holy person.  Look at Jesus.  He desired God above everything else and He was always mingling with the people in whatever they were doing. 

How did He show His desire for God? He worshipped God His Father at the temple, He spent time with God alone on a regular basis, He cared about people, and He put God’s will above His own.

Jesus said it all in a couple of sentences:  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.” And He added, “Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.” [Matthew 23: 37 and 39 The Living Bible]