This morning I woke up before the family and set out for some morning exercise and take a jog. Don’t take this as some sort of morning ritual because I have honestly neglected my temple for about a year now but it is time to do some maintenance. So I set out heading north on A1A and ran a little more than a mile. Then I opted for the beach for my return trip.

God speaks to people in all sorts of ways but for me it is often through the imagery of the things around me. As I making my return walk on the beach this was the encouraging word that God gave me. First let me give you the setting. Its 7:45am on a fairly unoccupied (at least this time of day) section of beach in Boca Raton, FL. It is beginning to heat up but the ocean breeze keeps the temperature just right for the cool down walk home.

As I am making my journey home I see in front of me other footsteps going in my direction. This reminds me that there have been others who have gone this way before me. God reminded of the many men and women who have journeyed for Him before. They too have experienced moments of uncertainty, moments of disappointments, moments of joy and moments of peace.

There were times when the waves would wash away these footsteps but if I would look to the next dune I would see them once again. There are times where we might feel like we are in uncharted territories but as the Bible says there is nothing new under the sun. So regardless of your circumstances somebody has been this way before and they got through it… just look to the next dune.

As I looked behind me I saw others on this same journey. This reminded that there will be others that will follow. God will send others just as He has set me on this path. I also saw my footsteps behind me and I realized that there will be people who God will send to follow in them, namely my son. So the question is “are my footsteps headed in the right direction?” Are they worth following or are they like all the other distracting footprints that lead here and there but don’t lead home.

Off to the right I see the distraction of wealth and prosperity. This was depicted to me by the multi-million dollar condos with amazing pool complexes, tennis courts and tiki bars. Living these past two years in a city that is listed #20 in the highest earners category in the country has put a new perspective on wealth for me. I no longer have my own issue with envy but God has shown me that it isn’t the wealth that is the issue but as with many things it comes down to the heart.

The drive for wealth and prosperity can lead you to sacrifice many of the things that God has told us to take care of first. But wealth combined with the right heart equals amazing opportunity to not only be an incredible blessing but also an incredible representative.

Then off to the left was the distraction of danger and uncertainty. The endless ocean full of crashing waves and man eating sharks is a daunting sight. Even though fear can be an easy distraction to fall to, when you are focused on the journey ahead it is amazing how the raging waves of life become just a faint echo.

Then of course there was the occasional head on battle with lust. As I have taught before it isn’t the initial glance that gets you but it is the second look on that leads to lust so thankfully I can’t go into detail with this imagery. But guys you know how this works and I promise you that there is no bigger distraction on our journey than this.

Eventually the footprints led me home and isn’t that the goal of the journey? The journey of life is really just a brief trip through a lot of distractions but if we focus on following the right footprints it will lead us home.