Footprints
This well-known poem, author unknown, gives a perfect picture of God's presence in our lives.
One night I dreamed a dream.
As 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.After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."
Here's what the Bible says...
27 Bible Verses about God’s Presence:
Psalm 16:11, ESV You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 100:4, ESV Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
Ephesians 3:12, BSB In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.
Matthew 18:20, ESV For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
Seeking God’s Presence in everything we do, everywhere we go.
Psalm 27:4, ESV One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
Exodus 33:14, NIV The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Exodus 33:15, NIV Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.
Isaiah 57:15, ESV For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Genesis 3:8, ESV And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Jeremiah 29:13, ESV You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Psalm 139:1-12, ESV
O Lord, you have searched me and known me
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
Hebrews 13:5, ESV Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Hebrews 4:16, KJV Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
James 4:8, ESV Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
John 14:27, ESV Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Matthew 28:20b, ESV And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.