“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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This devotion is copyright protected and all rights are reserved worldwide. You are free to use this devotion with your family or with your class. However, it may not be reprinted or republished in any form without written consent from Ruth Willms. If you would like to request permission to republish this devotion, please contact Ruth at ruth.willms@gmail.com

Influencing Without Manipulating

Day 25                                                    

I remember teaching my first Sunday school class. I was about 18 and my class consisted of the most adorable grade one kids. It was a small class of about eight in a small country church.

I discovered then how impressionable young primary kids are.  I only had to suggest they do something and they were on top of it. It scared me that I had so much power over them. They wanted to please me. I wanted to influence them for God but I didn’t want to manipulate them.

It was with great trepidation that I even introduced them to the plan of salvation. I was eager to plant those precious seeds in their hearts but I didn’t want them clamoring to accept Jesus because I suggested it.  I wanted to make sure it was Jesus’ call in their tender hearts that they were responding to.

When Jacob died his sons feared Joseph’s power.  After all he was next in command to Pharaoh.  He could have easily influenced Pharaoh to treat his brothers harshly in retaliation for the evil they did to him.

Paying his brothers back or even trying to manipulate them was far from Joseph’s mind. He asked them, “Am I in the place of God? “  Genesis 50: 19 NKJV. He wasn’t about to play God.

Instead Joseph influenced his brothers for good as he reminded them that God used their evil action for good.  He turned their hearts and minds to God.

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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 25 Today read:
Genesis 50:1 – Exodus 2:10
Matthew 16:13-17:9
Psalm 21:1-13
Proverbs 5:1-6

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This devotion is copyright protected and all rights are reserved worldwide. You are free to use this devotion with your family or with your class. However, it may not be reprinted or republished in any form without written consent from Ruth Willms. If you would like to request permission to republish this devotion, please contact Ruth at ruth.willms@gmail.com

Trusting God When Life Isn’t Perfect

I often think back on my parent’s lives to see what worked for them might work for me. My parents were godly and taught all of us children God’s ways. 

Even so their life was hard.  They married quickly in Russia so dad could bring his childhood sweetheart with him to Canada.  Mom’s family stayed behind. In a new country they struggled with the language change and the culture. They both came from wealthy families but went through hard financial times here.

Later on my dad had to retire early because of health problems.  Just before their 50th anniversary one of my brothers was missing for two months.  After the ice melted his body was discovered in the shallow shores of a nearby lake.  He had drowned.  Yet on their anniversary celebration Mom and Dad both praised the Lord for His goodness and reiterated how God loved them. 

In my heart I questioned them and I questioned God.  I saw God was with them in many ways but how could they sense God’s love when He allowed them to pass through difficult times? As time went on and I could look back on my life to see how God used my difficult times to draw me closer to Him I understood my parents better.  I realized God orchestrates all the activities in our lives, the good and the bad, to bless us and to glorify His name.

Jacob’s life with his sons was not perfect either.  He had hard times.  He lost Rachel, the love of his life, far too early.  His sons did not live exemplary lives although he taught them God’s ways.  His beloved son Joseph was lost to him for a long time. 

And yet before his death he gathered his sons around him encouraging them to walk with the God he and his forefathers had walked with.  He told them God was faithful.  God used all of this to bless Jacob beyond his highest expectations.  His son Joseph became the one to provide them with food, saving their lives. God continued to make his sons and their offspring the lineage of Jesus bringing salvation to everyone. 

“When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown!  When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned – the flames will not consume you……because you are precious to me and honored, and I love you.”  Isaiah 43: 2 and 4 [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 24 Today read:
Genesis 48:1-49:33
Matthew 15:29-16:12
Psalm 20:1-9
Proverbs 4:20-27
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This devotion is copyright protected and all rights are reserved worldwide. You are free to use this devotion with your family or with your class. However, it may not be reprinted or republished in any form without written consent from Ruth Willms. If you would like to request permission to republish this devotion, please contact Ruth at ruth.willms@gmail.com