Jeremiah 5:22 Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?

It is no accident that my friend’s devotional and mine have the same title. I read his and it inspired me. Not the same, but inspired all the same.

We walk by faith, we who have placed our trust in the Lord. Walking by faith is like walking at the water’s edge. We feel the pull of the tides against our feet. This is the tug of the Spirit of God. Yet we do not always walk and run in the water.

When I was a teen I would run the length of Long Sands in York, Maine. The white loose sand made it more difficult to run on. Loose footing, beach traffic, people on beach towels and hidden obstacles like broken glass and sea shells caused me to run in the wet sand close to the waves. My toes dug in and I left human claw marks were my bare foot toes would dig in. On my return trip from the end of the beach I could see that the waves had erased my footprints in the sand.

That memory passed over me this morning as I read my friend’s devotional. Jesus washed the disciple’s feet as an example of the forgiveness of sin, where our feet need only be cleansed because they were the only part of us that touched the world. What about the footprints we left where we walked? Are not the footprints also evidence of our sin?

For those of us that walk by faith, the Holy Spirit erases the footprints leaving no evidence of our passing. But the tide only goes so far. The sand of the sea is the perpetual boundary, the tide will only remove evidence of sin only so far. The closer you walk to the waves the faster the footprints are erased, but the tide comes in and removes evidence of sin for those who did not come to the water’s edge, but only so far.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

PS One of my favorite verses in the bible.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Years ago, when I working for my church elder, he would see me getting upset about things he would simply said “Peace!” It calmed me. Little did I know at the time that he was using the power of the Holy Spirit to speak to my spirit calling upon the peace which Jesus has given me. It was one of those lessons which has lasted with me over the years.

While we have the peace of the Lord that peace is a gift to be used, to be accessed by us in times of trouble. It is up to us to call upon that peace. Medicine has no value in the bottle, it must be taken. So it is with the peace the Lord has given us. It is there for us to access as needed. So why don’t we use it when we are upset?

When a book was published disrespecting Allah a death warrant was issued. As bad as that sounds there is something that says they are passionate about their beliefs. When Christ is disrespected we don’t issue death threats. We might complain, we might voice our opinions, we might gather together and pray. Deep down I want someone to pay for that disrespect, but vengeance belongs to God and He will repay. Knowing that does not stop the feeling that I have about not doing enough.

Romans 10:15b How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Tired of the tribulations of this world? Preaching the gospel of peace will bring a quicker end to it than bomb threats.