By Aimee Salkeld
Walk into a Christian home and you will probably find the words of ‘Footprints in the Sand’ on display. You can buy keychains and tea towels and decorative plates featuring this well-known piece of writing. This poem is so well known to many, ‘hanging round everywhere’ that is can be easy to ‘write it off’ as ‘just a picture on the wall’. But between the lines of this poem and the lyrics of the two songs shared today, we can find some wonderful promises from God.
At the end of the poem, the Father says, “My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you”. This is what the Lord has promised in Deuteronomy 31:6: “The Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” What was true of God then is true today—He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
This amazing promise gives us 4 certain truths we can apply to our lives:
- We are never alone
By the blood of His son Jesus, God has bridged the gap between us and him, which sin had created, fulfilling His promise to be with us forevermore (Romans 5:10). He is not only omnipresent but also gifted us the Holy Spirit so that even when we may not be able to see Him, we can know his presence (John 14:16-17).
2. We never have to be afraid
In Romans 8:31, Paul asks “If our God is for us, then who can be against us?”. There is no enemy or situation bigger, more frightening or more powerful than God. Even in the lowest times, our God is sheltering us in the shadow of His Almighty wings – He is our refuge, our strength and our shield (Psalm 91).
3.We are not strong but God is
The Lord says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”. Therefore, like Paul, we can “boast all the more gladly” and “delight in weaknesses” knowing that then “Christ’s power may rest in [us]” – “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). God really is carrying us even if life seems unbearably difficult. He is carrying us particularly when life is at its toughest.
4. We can give this hope to others
These promises and God’s “incomparably great power” are for “all us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19). So why not share this poem and these songs, along the incredible promises and hope it brings, with those around you!
Song 1 – Listen to Footprints by Matt Hammitt here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzohYkfGCcc
Song 2 – Listen to Footprints in the Sand by Leona Lewis here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBLkbBEfjcc
