I admit I’m a beach snob. I’ll drive thousands of miles to enjoy white sand and turquoise water. That’s why I’m surprised it took the Texas coast to give me the better picture of God’s daily provision.
My family vacationed at a Texas beach this summer. I hadn’t seen the Texas coast in the light of day since childhood. Other than a shorter drive and water more brown than what I’m used to, I didn’t know what to expect. Having access to a private beach afforded us no crowds, well-groomed sand, and plenty of seashells for my five-year-old daughter to find. Breathing the salt air, stepping into the pushing waves, and searching the sandbar for crabs, I had to stop and wonder if we were really still in Texas. Gratitude toward God for this valuable family time came easy.
A raised, wooden boardwalk connected the condo property to the beach over several hundred yards of tangled, green marsh grass. The grass looked like a perfect place for something slithery to hide and I was glad to see the boardwalk ran the full length. The sign adjacent to the fenced off area before the boardwalk read, “Do Not Enter-Rattlesnake Habitat”.
As our footsteps creaked over the boardwalk, I looked below into that expanse of green, expecting to see or hear a rattlesnake, but to no avail. One morning as the wind picked up, I did see a couple of floating tubes caught up in a gust and sent into the marsh. I asked a security guard if anybody ever went in to retrieve lost items. He chuckled and said, “Nobody smart.”
Crossing over a snake habitat each morning to access the beach made me think of what it is like to separate my thoughts and actions apart from the world each day in order to access God’s best.
Though the green color makes the marsh look rich, cool and inviting, it’s actually full of venom and snares, and potentially lethal. A fool would have to run in there. Left to our own devices apart from God, we tend to approach life as fools instead of in a wise manner.
As God’s creation, we are under constant barrage by an enemy bent on sending us straight into the rattlesnake habitat via sin.
Our only hope is the bridge God provided through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For those that receive this good news and respond by faith, this boardwalk provides a lifeline. For the Christian, this boardwalk will offer daily protection and a reminder of how God raised you up from below, to walk with Him in new life.
What places tend to give you a better glimpse of God?
The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. – Genesis 3:14
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. – 1 Peter 5:8
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. – Hebrews 10:22
