It was a perfect day for swimming. It was very warm, the sun was shining and the sky was bright blue with fluffy white clouds. As Jill and her friends ran down the road to the creek, the pavement was hot on the bottom of their bare feet. They ran quickly to the little bridge and then down the bank to the water below. Throwing their towels on the rocks, they stepped into the cool water, ready for a good time.
Jill paddled around in the water for some time, enjoying herself. She was not a very good swimmer, but it didn’t matter because the water wasn’t deep. She and her friends called back and forth, just feeling happy to be outside on such a lovely day. Jill flipped over onto her back and looked up at the beautiful sky. One of the few things she could do was float on her back.
“Hey, Jill, come over here! Let’s play Marco Polo,” called Diane. Jill stood up and then pushed off a rock with her feet to paddle over to her friends.
Suddenly she felt a pain in her big toe. She lifted her foot out of the water and found a big gash in her toe. When she looked back down in the water, she saw broken pieces of glass at the bottom! Someone had carelessly thrown a bottle into the creek. It had broken on the stony bottom, and now she had stepped on the broken pieces!
The Bible says in Proverbs 27:11Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. (Proverbs 27:1), “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” When we get up in the morning we do not know what the day will hold for us. Life is uncertain in many, many ways, but this is no reason to be frightened or depressed. There is good news! And that good news is that “God is love.” 1 John 4:88He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (1 John 4:8). God is for us and not against us! And whatever comes our way in life, the Lord Jesus is able and wants to take care of our problems for us, if we will let Him.
Once the problem of your sins has been settled with God, you have every reason to start each day happy, knowing He will help you through the day. Here are several promises He gives us in the Bible. “The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers.” 1 Peter 3:1212For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. (1 Peter 3:12). “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear.” Hebrews 13:5,65Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (Hebrews 13:5‑6).
Some of Jill’s friends helped her out of the creek and up the bank while others ran to get her mother. Then Jill had to go to the hospital to have the gash sewed up.
If you would like to have the Lord Jesus as your own Saviour and wonderful Friend, God has already provided what is necessary, because He loves you. Romans 5:88But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) tells us that “God commendeth [shows] His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Even before we had any thoughts toward God, God loved us and was making a way so that we might be able to come to Him. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son [Jesus] to be the propitiation [substitute] for our sins.” 1 John 4:1010Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10). If you are troubled about your sins and want to be right with God, He already loves you and has prepared a way! You only need to come to Him, confessing you have sinned, and He will forgive you. Then He promises, “I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:17,1817Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:17‑18).
ML-12/05/1993