2nd perspective of footprints in the sand. Are there unopened treasure boxes?

This article ministered to me greatly. My week had been extremely good till I did sth wrong, and I felt so guilty and was filled with regret. This woke me up again, God...i wanna walk with u. Amen.

Walking With God Daily
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 33:2-6

Today's Treasure: "O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress" (Isaiah 33:2).

One of the things I enjoy most about God is his daily-ness. We don't develop an appreciation for His presence from crisis points. Pure appreciation for God's presence emerges from a daily walk—perhaps in the mundane more than the miraculous.

Last year my sweet daddy had a stroke, and I rode with him in the ambulance from a small community hospital to one that was larger and better staffed. The paramedics were wonderful and although I appreciate them, we didn't trade numbers or plan to have lunch! Sometimes we tend to approach God in the same way. He gets us through an emergency and although we appreciate Him, we do not necessarily stay in touch with Him after the crisis passes.

Not only will our enjoyment of God remain lacking if our walk with Him isn't daily, our willingness and readiness to obey Him will remain lacking. Much of obedience is based on trust, and trust grows from a day-to-day relationship.

I remember when a profound change occurred in my daily approach to God. For years I asked God to walk with me. Suddenly, as if someone pulled the string on a lamp, I realized God wanted me to walk with Him. For years I asked God to bless what I did. Talk about the clay trying to spin the Potter! I formerly wanted to take my feet of clay and walk where my heart led and count on the Potter to bless my sweet-if-selfish little heart. My clay feet got scorched walking through some terrible fires sparked by the misguided passion of my own heart. Suddenly I realized God's blessing would come when I did what He said. I have learned the hard way that I can only trust my heart when it is fully surrendered to obey God's truth. On its own, my heart is "deceitful above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9). For our own safety and pure enjoyment of God, we are so wise and blessed to learn to walk with God instead of begging Him to walk with us.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 tells us God is the One with the good plan: " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.' " We don't have a clue where the paths we choose will ultimately lead. We possess little more than hoped-for theories. God's plans for our lives lead the way of 1 Corinthians2:9—more than we've seen, heard, or even imagined. Walking with God in pursuit of daily obedience is the sure means of fulfilling each of His wonderful plans.

Imagine going to heaven and standing by God as He lovingly shows you the calendar of His plan for your earthly life. It begins with the day you were born. Once you received Christ as Savior, every day that follows is outlined in red. You see footprints walking through each day of each week of your life. On many of the days, two sets of footprints appear. You inquire, "Father, are those my footprints on the calendar every day and is the second set of prints when You joined me?"

He answers, "No, My precious child. The consistent footprints on your calendar are Mine. The second set of footprints are when you joined Me."

"Where were You going, Father?"

"To the destiny I planned for you, hoping you'd follow."

"But Father, where were my footprints all those times?"

He answers, "Sometimes you went back to look at old resentments and habits while I was still going forward, hoping you'd join me. Sometimes you departed from My path and chose your own calendar instead. Other times your footprints can even be seen on another person's calendar because you thought you liked their plan better. At other times you simply stopped because you would not let go of something you could not take the next day."

"But Father, we ended up OK even if I didn't walk with You every day, didn't we?"

He holds you close and smiles, "Yes, My child, we ended up OK. But, you see, OK was never what I had in mind for you."

"Father, what are those golden treasure boxes on certain days?"

"Blessings, My child, I had for you along the way. Those that are open are those you received. Those still closed were days you did not walk with Me."

Does this scenario seem far-fetched? Actually, it's quite biblical. Scripture frequently tells us why we should walk God's way instead of ours: "God.always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:14).

If you happen to have a Bible concordance, I challenge you to look at the times God directs us to "walk in His ways." I also challenge you to review the calendar of your last week. Ask God to help you remember as much about your week as possible. You might even glance back at your prayer journal if you keep one. Which days reflect that you walked with God? If you did not walk with God on any days, try to remember where you "were" on those days. Rejoice over any opened treasure box you received from God. Do you suppose your way might also be littered with unopened treasure boxes and days with wandering footprints?

I am asking you these questions for three reasons. I want you to see how deliberate God desires for us to become in seeking to walk with Him. I want you to think about where we tend to "go" when we leave His path, and I want you to identify the undeniable link between blessing and daily walking with God. Remember, walking consistently does not mean walking perfectly. It means we may stumble, but we will not fall!