Thoughts for the Day

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you....

Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart to revere your name.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God,
with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name for ever.

(New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Sometimes we ask for God's help, but then we forget to listen for His answer, or we don't notice His answer for years to come. We need to ask God to teach us now at this difficult time of our life. A famous poem 'Footsteps in the Sand' by Mary Stevenson reminds us of this:

'I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord,
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand;
One belonged to me, and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before us,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
There was only one set of footprints.

I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me,
and I questioned the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
You would walk with me all the way;
But I have noticed that during the
most troublesome times in my life,
There is only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why in times when I
needed you the most, you should leave me.

The Lord replied, “My precious, precious
child. I love you, and I would never,
never leave you during your times of
trial and suffering.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you.'

Heavenly Father,
We try to be so self-sufficient,
thinking we can solve all our problems on our own.
and forgetting that you are there with us.
Help us to remember to turn to You,
so that You can teach us Your ways,
and we can learn to trust in You once more.
Amen.