Saturday, June 28, 2025  

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Today's Scripture
Psalm 77:1–2, 11–20

I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, that he may hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.

I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;
I will remember your wonders of old.
I will meditate on all your work
and muse on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
you have displayed your might among the peoples.
With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
the very deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered;
your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
your path through the mighty waters,
yet your footprints were unseen.
You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (NRSVUE)

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Reflection

Do you collect bookmarks? No, not just the little computer symbols that look all the same. Do you collect pieces of paper or fabric or even postcards to mark your place (or places) in books?

I do, and sometimes the right bookmark is even better for remembering a passage in a book than any underlining or marking I can leave behind. If I’m wondering whether a book was one I enjoyed, my path through it can be seen in the bits of paper, fabric, or even metal still sticking out of it.

That’s how I found my way to this assignment — by its bookmark. For ages I’ve had Psalm 77 marked with a story that was popular on cards and posters in the days before Facebook posts began to crowd such things out — a story called “Footprints.” It is printed on my bookmark without attribution to an author.

In the story, a man has a dream about walking on a beach with the Lord. Much like the psalmist, the walker looks back at his life and sees events, but when he sees them, it is in the times of thunder and lightning — the lowest, worst times — that the dreaming man sees only one set of footprints.

So he had enough nerve to ask the Lord about it.

God’s way was through the sea, and the dreaming man had agreed to follow God – but why, at the worst times, was there only one set of footprints on the beach?

As my bookmark puts it, “The Lord replied, ‘My precious, precious child. I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.’”

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Prayer

Dear God, thank you for teaching me to walk with you through the example you sent in Jesus. But sometimes I still need to be carried. Thank you for being here to do that through the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Written by Margaret Laing, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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