For the first time ever, this winter, I strapped on a pair of snowshoes and hiked off at speed over head-high snowdrifts into our scrubby wetlands. It was giddy. As I made those initial strides, the thought came, "I am walking on water — frozen, but water, nonetheless!"

Snowshoes distribute the wearer's weight over the surface of deep snow so that instead of bogging down into a snowdrift and being trapped, she walks quickly to a place where she could never go without them.

The joy of that and later snowshoeing ventures sent me looking for a passage from the Bible to give words to the experiences. I found that the psalmist David said it for me:

Psalm 23:4-6 – Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NKJV)

The psalmist and I both acknowledge walking in a dangerous place. My snowshoes giving a solid foundation for me on the deep snow is like the Lord's grace present and working to protect, supply, encourage, and surround each of us, no matter where we are.

Taking the Lord to heart as the giver of life and believing in His name empowers me to be one of His children, to live in His house, to walk through life with confidence, to trust that He provides for me, and most importantly, to find comfort in the words of the Bible and the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. The experience of knowing God through Christ makes me giddy, just like walking on frozen water.

What do you find in your walk with the Lord?

Prayer: Father, thank You! Through the new covenant established and ratified by Christ, You make us Your precious children! When we believe and walk in life, trusting Your love for us and all You do for us by Christ's redemptive work, it is wonderful. Help us to live in continual joy and to demonstrate Your grace to others. We ask in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

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About the author:

Pat Bell <llebpat@gmail.com>
Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
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