One
night I dreamed a dream. I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the
dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.
When
the last scene of my life shot before me I looked back at the footprints in the
sand. There was only one set of footprints. I realized that this was at the
lowest and saddest times of my life. This always bothered me and I questioned
the Lord about my dilemma.
"Lord,
You told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk and talk with me all
the way. But I'm aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there
is only one set of footprints. I just don't understand why, when I need You
most, You leave me."
He
whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never,
ever, during your trials and testing’s. When you saw only one set of
footprints, It was then that I carried you."[i]
If you have you ever felt distant with your Heavenly Father, ask yourself these four questions. Am I still…
1. Operating on the unchanging truth of the Bible, or my own changing feelings?
Keep
your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have
because He has said, “I will never leave you; I will always be by your side. (Hebrews
13:5, VOICE)
2.
Seeking
after the Heavenly Father?
“Let
your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. Don’t
be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your
prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace
of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in
Christ Jesus.” (Philippians
4:5-7, CEB)
“Any relationship involves
times of closeness and times of distance, and in a relationship with God (no
matter how intimate) the pendulum will swing from one side to the other.” (Philip Yancey)
3.
At
fault for the Heavenly Father not being present in my life?
“The peace of God is not the absence of fear. It, in fact, is His
presence.” (Timothy Keller)
·
Do
I have unconfessed sin in my life?
“Don't
think that the Lord is too weak to save you or too deaf to hear your call for
help! 2 It is because of your sins that He doesn't hear you. It
is your sins that separate you from God when you try to worship Him.” (Isaiah
59:1-2, GNT)
·
Does the Heavenly Father wish to glorify Himself
through my suffering?
“To
keep me from becoming conceited because of the exceptional nature of these
revelations, a thorn was given to me and placed in my body. It was Satan’s
messenger to keep on tormenting me so that I would not become conceited.” (2
Corinthians 12:7, ISV-the Apostle
Paul)
·
Is the Heavenly Father trying to grow (and mature) your
faith with the emotional distance?
“If I
go to the east, God is not there. If I go to the west, I still don’t see Him.
When He is working in the north, I don’t see Him. When He turns to the south, I
still don’t see Him. But God knows me. He is testing me and will see that I am
as pure as gold.” (Job
23:8-, ERV)
4. Learning the lesson of Jesus’ humanity (and suffering)?
“We
have a high priest who can feel with us when we are weak. He has been tested in
every way, just as we are. But he did not do anything wrong.” (Hebrews
4:15, New Testament WE)[ii]
“He is not humanity deified. He is not Godhead
humanized. He is God. He is man. He is all that God is, and all that man is as
God created Him.”
(Charles Spurgeon)
“God will wreck your plans when He sees that your plans are about to wreck you.” (ibloom.us)
[i] “Footprints in the Sand” by Mark Littleton, 1990, 4th
version)
This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: your footprints that once etched the sand next to the Master's are now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His larger footprints is the small 'sand print', safely enclosed. You and Jesus are becoming one.
This goes on for many miles. But gradually you notice another change. The footprint inside the larger footprint seems to grow larger. Eventually it disappears altogether. There is only one set of footprints. They have become one.
Again, this goes on for a long time. But then something awful happens. The second set of footprints is back. And this time it seems even worse. Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Deep gashes in the sand. A veritable mess of prints. You're amazed and shocked. But this is the end of your dream.
Now you speak. "Lord, I understand the first scene with the zigzags and fits and starts and so on. I was a new Christian, just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with you."
"That is correct."
"Yes, and when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps. I followed You very closely."
"Very good. You have understood everything so far."
"Then the smaller footprints grew and eventually filled in with Yours. I suppose that I was actually growing so much that I was becoming like you in every way."
"Precisely."
"But this is my question. Lord.. Was there a regression or something? The footprints went back to two, and this time it was worse than the first."
The Lord smiles, then laughs. "You didn't know?"
He says. "That was when we danced."
[ii] Inspired by the sermon “Cries of
the Heart: Where Were You, God?” (installment three) Sunday, July 2, 2017 Pastor Dave Jansen,
CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH
Used “Footprints” (“I Had a Dream”) by Margaret Fishback Powers (second version, 1964)
Used “Footprints” (“I Had a Dream”) by Margaret Fishback Powers (second version, 1964)
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